Column
The regular columns written by Toshiya Ono, CEO of Sports Access Corporation, for the Nikkei newspaper and Nikkan Gendai, evening tabloid newspaper, have been popular. He has written about MLB and NPB players and teams, revealing facts that other media outlets have not reported.
What makes his columns unique is that he uses records to solve mysteries that fans want to know, leveraging the systems owned by our corporation. These systems include input, database, and analysis systems. They all have been developed over more than 20 years through repeated revisions by the CEO.
Nikkei Newspaper Web Column
Below is a summary of a column published in November 2016 on the Nikkei newspaper website.
“Giant’s Tsuneo Horiuchi may have thrown 170 km/h! Shohei Ohtani’s pitching technique and the true meaning of 165 km/h”
「巨人・堀内恒夫は170キロを出していた！？大谷翔平の投球術と165キロの本当の意味」11月のコラムより
Shohei Ohtani, before joining the Los Angeles Angels in the Major League Baseball, played for the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japanese Professional Baseball, NPB. In October 2016, he made headlines for recording a pitch speed of 165 km/h. However, the NPB was home to numerous pitchers with fastballs that could rival Ohtani’s in terms of speed.
Kaneda who achieved 400 wins and Nagashima
In 1958, during the debut game of Shigeo Nagashima of the Giants, Masaichi Kaneda struck out Nagashima four times in four at-bats, saying, “I’ll show this college rookie how tough being a pro is.” Kaneda was the only left-handed pitcher in the world to achieve 400 wins.
The initial speed of Kaneda’s pitch in that match, as analyzed from rare footage, was at least 162 km/h.
Shigeo Nagashima is the only player in NPB history to be called “Mr. Professional Baseball.”
Horiuchi pitched 170 km/h
Horiuchi Tsuneo, who played as the ace pitcher for the V9 Giants, was also fast. The right-handed pitcher, who had a career record of 203 wins, debuted in 1966 and achieved 13 consecutive wins to start the season. In July of that season, his pitch speed was precisely measured using a phototube. The result was 155.5 km/h at home plate. The initial speed was estimated to have been between 168 km/h and 170 km/h.
Champion-maker Enatsu
Horiuchi’s rival, Yutaka Enatsu of the Hanshin Tigers, was also known for his fastball as a left-handed pitcher in NPB. Enatsu set the world record for 401 strikeouts in a single season in 1968. His pitches were filmed using a modified camera that shoots 120 frames per second, revealing an average speed of 155.5 km/h. The initial speed was estimated to be around 162 km/h.
Other columns are listed below with only their titles.
“Get on base at the start of the inning, Hold the lead at the start of the inning!” in February
“Ichiro Suzuki becomes the first player in history to hit 5,000 hits in MLB and NPB in total” in May
“Ask Tommy John, the left-handed pitcher with 288 wins, on how to recover from Tommy John surgery” in July
“Fight fire with fire? Do left-handed pitchers really hold left-handed batters?” in March, etc.
Nikkan Gendai column
The following is an excerpt from a column published in the Nikkan Gendai newspaper in 2018. Detailed explanations are summarized in STATS.
BBI, and RBI/8
“Hoshino Senichi’s favorite BBI, bases batted in” in February
「星野仙一監督も注目した「打撃獲得塁打」（BBI）」2月掲載
“True ability to drive in runs: RBI/8” in March
「打点を稼ぐ本当の能力、打点脅威度！横浜DeNA・桑原将志に注目」3月掲載