Former Kintetsu Pitcher with Amputated Arm Plans to Throw Strikes with His Left Arm This December!

The “Pikkari Pitching Method,” which has become many times more popular than his remarkable achievement.

“Thanks to Satoshi Nakajima, who recently stepped down as the manager of Orix, the ‘Pikkari Pitching’ was born. He was laughing so hard at the plate that time was called, and it made me realize, ‘This could become a joke.’ If it had been overlooked, it probably wouldn’t have made it onto the ‘Rare Plays and Great Plays Awards,’ and I wouldn’t have had the chance to showcase my bald head collaboration with catcher Kohei Oda and batter Ben-chan (Kazuhiro Wada) in front of a crowd of 50,000.”

The ‘Pikkari Pitching’ of Shigeki Sano (56) has permeated society far more than the achievement of being the first reliever to become a 100 million yen player.

In August 1995, during a game against Orix, Sano, who was the middle reliever ace for Kintetsu, took the mound and was in great form. Nakajima was at the plate.

“I usually pitched from the set position, but since it was a lopsided game, I thought I’d try throwing from the wind-up. I figured Nakajima wouldn’t hit in a game like this. Then I started clocking speeds of 148 and 149. I thought, ‘I might be able to hit 150 km/h,’ so I really wound up, and my arm hit my hat, which popped off and landed on my head. I thought, ‘Would it look bad if I threw like this?’ So I glanced at the plate and saw Nakajima cracking up. The umpire was crouched down, laughing along with him.”

Almost 30 years after that “historic matchup,” Nakajima has made a name for himself in baseball history as a legendary manager who led Orix to three consecutive championships starting in 2021.

On the other hand, Sano faced a tragedy, having to undergo the amputation of his right arm after a five-year battle with illness, leading him to leave the world of baseball.