Masaichi Kaneda
| Masaichi Kaneda 金田 正一 |
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| Pitcher | |||
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Born: August 1, 1933 Heiwa, Nakashima, Aichi, Japan |
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| NPB debut | |||
| August 23, 1950, for the Kokutestu Swallows | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| 1969, for the Yomiuri Giants | |||
| NPB statistics | |||
| Win–Loss | 400–298 | ||
| Earned run average | 2.34 | ||
| Strikeouts | 4,490 | ||
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As player
As manager
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| Member of the Japanese | |||
 Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Inducted | 1988 | ||
As player
As manager
Masaichi Kaneda (金田 正一 Kaneda Masaichi?, born August 1, 1933 in Heiwa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan) is a Zainichi Korean–Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He is one of the best-known pitchers in Japanese baseball history, and is the only Japanese pitcher to have won 400 games. He was inducted in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.
Nicknamed "The Emperor" because he was the most dominant pitcher in Japan during his prime, Kaneda holds numerous Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) career records. He managed to win 400 games despite being on a horrific team, the Kokutestu Swallows, for most of his career. About 90% of his 400 career wins came with the Swallows. Kaneda batted and threw left-handed.
Kaneda quit high school in 1950, and joined the Kokutetsu Swallows (current Tokyo Yakult Swallows) in the middle of 1950. The Swallows were a very weak team at that point in Japanese baseball. Kaneda quickly became recognized as the best pitcher in Japan for his fastball and trademark drop curve. Kaneda also had terrible control during the first few years of his career, walking over 190 batters in 1951 and 1952. Although his control got better as his career progressed, he eventually established the all-time Japanese record for walks.
The speed gun was not introduced to Japan until after Kaneda had retired, but he claims that the velocity of his fastball reached 100 mph during his prime. In Kaneda's rookie year, player Masayasu Kaneda (no relation) from the Osaka Tigers complained that Kaneda's pitches appeared too fast because the mound was set too close to the batter's box. The game was stopped as the umpire measured the distance with a tape measure; the mound was found to be set the correct distance away from the batter's box.
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