Katsuya Nomura
| Katsuya Nomura 野村 克也 |
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| Catcher/Manager | |||
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Born: June 29, 1935 Kyōtango, Kyoto, Japan |
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| NPB debut | |||
| June 17, 1954, for the Nankai Hawks | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| October 3, 1980, for the Seibu Lions | |||
| NPB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .277 | ||
| Hits | 2901 | ||
| HRs | 657 | ||
| RBIs | 1988 | ||
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As player As manager |
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
| Member of the Japanese | |||
 Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Inducted | 1989 | ||
As player
As manager
Katsuya Nomura (野村 克也 Nomura Katsuya?, born June 29, 1935 in Amino, Takeno District (Present: Kyotango), Kyoto prefecture, Japan) was one of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) greatest catchers, and was also a long-time manager for the Yakult Swallows and the Hanshin Tigers of the Central League, and for the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Pacific League. With 657 home runs and 1988 RBI, Nomura ranks number two on the career NPB lists in both categories, behind Sadaharu Oh. Nomura was elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.
He lost his father at the age of three years, and his mother and brother raised him in poverty. He never made it to the national baseball tournaments in high school, but he was given a chance to play for the Nankai Hawks as a trainee without salary.
During a career that spanned four decades from 1954 to 1980, Nomura hit 657 home runs and led the Pacific League in homers eight straight seasons. (However, it should be taken into consideration that his home park, Osaka Stadium, measured only 276 feet down the lines until 1972, and 300 feet from 1972 onward, and 380 feet to straightaway center—tiny dimensions by Major League Baseball standards.) He finished his career with 2901 hits.
In 1965, Nomura won the league's first Triple Crown. He was a player-manager between 1970 and 1977. He played for 26 years, the longest NPB playing career until Kimiyasu Kudoh pitched in his 27th season in 2008.
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Wikipedia