It was surprising that Nishitai Tai, the former Nishitetsu Lions star nicknamed “the Wonder Boy,” left behind a notebook analyzing Major League Baseball. In it, the names of legendary players like Ted Williams, considered the greatest hitter of all time, were scattered throughout.
May 11 marked the third anniversary of Nishitai’s passing—a day that felt like early summer. As a slugger who represented Japanese baseball and a brilliant mentor who nurtured countless stars, he must have dreamed of the baseball powerhouse across the Pacific during his playing days.
At his home surrounded by beautiful flowers, his wife Toshiko welcomed me. She is the eldest daughter of the renowned manager Minoru Mihara, who ranks second all-time in managerial wins. Nishitai held deep respect for Mihara.
“Hey, this bean-jam dorayaki is delicious!” Toshiko’s voice came from the back of the dining room.
“Is that so? But those are chunky red bean paste,” I replied.
“…”
A brief silence followed. That kind of banter, like a couple’s comedy routine, is now a fond memory. Mihara was famous for being a “note-taking fanatic” and was already well-versed in MLB. It’s likely that Nishitai, who revered his father-in-law as a mentor, also developed an interest in the American game.
Regarding the meticulously kept “Nishitai notes,” Toshiko explained, “He often copied what my father translated.”
One page recorded what he learned firsthand from Stan Musial, the Cardinals’ great hitter with 3,630 career hits, during his visit to Japan for the 1958 Japan-US baseball series. After Nishitai and Musial discussed the hitting style of Ted Williams—the last .400 hitter in MLB and a two-time Triple Crown winner—they concluded something they were “convinced was most important.”
“That is ‘knowing the strike zone.’ Anyone might say they can tell a strike from a ball, but a hitter who only swings at balls has no right to be a great one. (Stan Musial) said, ‘When we traveled to Japan (in fall 1958) for exhibition games, the biggest flaw in Japanese players was that they didn’t know the strike zone.’ And he said the Cardinals’ pitchers were greatly helped by that.”
Another page, titled “Joe DiMaggio’s Hitting Theory,” detailed everything from stance to weight transfer. It shows that Nishitai studied MLB from both mental and technical perspectives.
Few know that in 1998, when the Diamondbacks were established as an expansion team, Nishitai received an offer to become their hitting coach. The team sent a formal letter in English, but he declined due to poor health at the time.
During his lifetime, Nishitai paid close attention to Munetaka Murakami, then with the Yakult Swallows and now with the Chicago White Sox. In 2019, Murakami’s second year out of high school, he started from opening day and played all 143 games. He tied Nishitai’s record of 36 home runs for a player within two years of high school, and surpassed Nishitai’s RBI record of 86 with 96 RBIs.
Yakult was a team Nishitai held dear, having served as head coach under the newly appointed Mihara in 1971, teaching players alongside him. He often visited Jingu Stadium and encouraged Murakami, saying, “Thanks to you, my name is in the papers.”
I also sat behind the net with Nishitai, sharing the lunch his wife Toshiko had prepared, while listening to him analyze the batting of the young Murakami.
“Watch him. He’s going to be a home run hitter. Murakami’s strength is his ability to hit to all fields. Especially his ability to drive the ball to left field shows that he doesn’t just ‘push’ outside pitches but truly ‘hits’ them. It all depends on his mindset. For now, he just needs to swing the bat. Swing relentlessly.”
Just as Nishitai hoped that Murakami would “grow strong like a healthy plant,” Murakami went on to become the youngest Triple Crown winner in Japanese baseball history, rising to the top of the league. And this season, in his first year playing in the US, he is competing for the lead in home runs and RBIs.
Before his passing, Nishitai cheerfully recounted his interactions with Murakami, who debuted with Yakult.
“I told Murakami, ‘Swing the bat every night,’ and he stood at attention and replied, ‘Yes, I’m swinging.’ That reassured me. Yakult has a strong foundation. The coaches are teaching him properly.”
Has Murakami grasped the MLB strike zone? As if weaving together Nishitai’s dream of the other side of the ocean during post-war reconstruction, Japanese players are now taking flight. It was a sentimental day, seeing the “Wonder Boy” reflected in Murakami’s success. (Honorifics omitted)
