Masaaki Koyama, "Pitching Precision Machine," Dies at 90

   Tokyo, April 24 (Jiji Press)--Former Hanshin Tigers pitcher Masaaki Koyama, nicknamed "pitching precision machine" for his excellent ball control, died of heart failure on April 18 at the age of 90, the Japanese professional baseball team said Thursday.
   During his career through 1973, Koyama earned 320 wins, ranking third on record in Japan. No pitcher other than him won more than 100 games in both the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization's Central League and the Pacific League.
   After joining the Osaka Tigers, a predecessor of the Hanshin Tigers, as a trial player, Koyama clinched five wins in 1953, his first year as a professional, and 11 in 1954. He earned more than 20 wins for three years in a row from 1958.
   In 1962, Koyama contributed to the Tigers' first victory since the end of World War II, with 27 wins. He also set Central League records with five consecutive shutouts and 13 shutouts in a single season, and won the Eiji Sawamura Award.
   After the 1963 season ended, Koyama was traded to the Daimai Orions, currently the Chiba Lotte Marines. The trade of Koyama, who was the Hanshin Tigers' ace pitcher, and Kazuhiro Yamauchi, the cleanup hitter for the Daimai Orions, was dubbed "the trade of the century."

(2025/04/24-21:14)