Behind the Legendary Controversial Call in the Japan Series, Revealed by NPB’s First Chief Umpire

Former professional baseball umpire Osamu Ino, who officiated 2,902 games and served as the first NPB chief umpire, candidly discusses his career in his latest book “Professional Baseball: 90% is Umpires—Legendary Battles Seen Through the Mask” (published by Gento-sha), now available.

Professional Baseball is 90% Umpiring: Legendary Offenses and Defenses Seen Through the Mask ” (Gentosha) is now on sale.

In the current “Professional Baseball: 90% is Umpires—Legendary Battles Seen Through the Mask” (Gento-sha), a book gaining attention, we delve into a legendary call that shaped the Japan Series, as we aim to deepen the enjoyment of the heated 2024 Japan Series between the Yokohama DeNA BayStars and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. This excerpt, re-edited from the book, highlights the iconic judgment. (The expressions and wording are based on the book’s content.)

 

The Legendary Call from the Japan Series that is still talked about today.

 

The Japan Series, which began in 1950 with the division of the two leagues, has been held 74 times up until 2023. Let’s take a look at some legendary calls.

First, there is umpire Mitsuru Enjoji (born in 1908, with 21 years of umpire experience and 2,373 games officiated).

In the 1961 Japan Series, Game 4 between the Giants and Nankai (at Korakuen Stadium). With the Giants leading 2-1 and trailing by one run, with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning, pitcher Joe Stanka threw a low, inside pitch to Tetsuo Miyamoto, who was already down two strikes. The pitch was a close call, but Enjoji, as the umpire behind the plate, called it a ball.

Despite protests from catcher Katsuya Nomura and manager Isao Tsuruoka, the call stood. After the game resumed, Miyamoto hit a walk-off, game-winning single to right field. At that moment, Stanka appeared to charge at Enjoji, as though he were backing up home plate, and collided with him. After the game, the Nankai players vigorously protested against Enjoji. Ultimately, the Giants reclaimed the championship for the first time in six years.

“Enjoji, was that a ball? The autumn sky.” (Unknown poet)

“It was a close pitch that could have been called either a strike or a ball. I think Enjoji may have felt regret after that, as he had to retire from umpiring due to health problems.” (Tsuruoka)

Enjoji passed away in 1983 at the age of 75. In 1990, exactly 30 years after that Japan Series, a baseball reporter asked then-manager Nomura (of Yakult) about that play.

“I thought we had won the game when I saw the pitch, and I slightly lifted my rear. It was a close call, but if I had caught it with more authority, maybe Enjoji would have called it a strike. It was 0.1 seconds too early. I regret it.”

If Enjoji had heard those words, he would have surely been pleased. For umpires, it is considered a compliment when no one notices them. Only when a controversial call is made does an umpire’s name come up. It is a job that wears on the nerves.

Over an hour of intense protests over whether it was a home run or foul.

Next is umpire Isao Okada (born 1931, umpiring career spanning 36 years, officiated 3,902 games).

In the 1969 Japan Series, Giants vs. Hankyu, Game 4 (Korakuen Stadium), during a double steal, third base runner Masao Doi (Giants) appeared to be out as his left foot was blocked by catcher Koji Okamura (Hankyu). However, Okada ruled Doi safe.

Catcher Okamura attempted to strike Okada with his right hand, resulting in his ejection. The next day, a photo in the Hochi newspaper proved that Doi’s left foot had indeed reached safely through the gap in the block. The Giants went on to win their fifth consecutive championship.

The third umpire is Hiroya Tomizawa (born 1931, umpiring career spanning 35 years, officiated 3,775 games).

In the 1978 Japan Series, Yakult vs. Hankyu, Game 7 (Korakuen Stadium), Yakult’s cleanup hitter Katsuo Osugi hit an inside pitch from Hankyu’s Hiroshi Adachi toward the left-field pole. 

The left-field umpire, Hiroya Tomizawa, ruled it a home run, but Hankyu manager Toshiji Ueda argued that it was a foul, leading to a protest that lasted for 1 hour and 19 minutes (Note: some have argued that it might have been a foul).

In his next at-bat, Osugi hit another home run, this time off Hisashi Yamada, to help Yakult win their first-ever Japan Series title in their 29th year.

Tomizawa had also umpired the 1959 “Emperor’s Game” between the Giants and Tigers (Korakuen Stadium), where Shigeo Nagashima hit a walk-off home run off the Tigers’ Minoru Murayama.

Murayama said, “That was a foul!” Even his former teammate, Yutaka Enatsu, claimed, “I’ve heard him say that it was a foul more than 100 times.” The ball was clearly a home run, but Murayama’s strong desire to not lose to Nagashima and the Giants was evident.

The reason why it can be firmly stated that umpires will not be replaced by AI.

In the 2023 Japan Series between Orix and Hanshin, what stood out was Game 2 (at Kyocera Dome Osaka).

The strike zone for the right-handed batter on the inner low corner was narrow, and both the inside fastball from left-handed pitcher Hiroya Miyagi (Orix) and the inside shot from right-handed pitcher Yuki Nishi (Hanshin) were called balls.

Some commentators offered harsh opinions on this.

“If an umpire like that shows up in the Japan Series, it would be a problem. If the strike zone is that narrow, the game won’t be playable.”

However, when Miyagi was asked about this by a reporter, he responded:

“It’s not about the umpire’s calls being strict or lenient, the same strike zone applies to both teams. So, I just focused on my pitching.”

Hearing that comment, I was pleased to think that more players might be adopting this mindset. Whether the strike zone is strict or lenient, the umpire who is managing the game cannot be replaced in the middle of the match.

In Major League Baseball, the calls are not everything. While the ball and strike judgments for each pitch are important, the management of the game between the benches is even more crucial. The umpire’s ability to manage the game over the course of an entire match is what matters. And the players understand this.

For example, when a pitcher throws and the catcher returns the ball to the pitcher, even if the umpire calls the ball at that moment, Major League catchers often respond with an air of acceptance, saying, “Oh, that’s a ball. Well, it can’t be helped,” and the game continues without issue.

Recently, some extreme voices have even suggested this:

“Since technology has progressed so much with things like the instant replay system, why not let AI handle the calls for ball and strike, just like with outs and safes? Is there still a need for human umpires?”

In fact, this year, robot umpires were introduced in the Korean professional baseball league. I think it would be worth trying to have machines handle everything once. Because I believe the conclusion will inevitably be, “We really do need human umpires.”

Former professional baseball umpire Osamu Ino, who judged a total of 2,902 games and also served as the first umpire-in-chief of the NPB, has written a book titled ” Puroyakyu wa umpire ga 90%: Legendary offense and defense seen through a mask ” (Gentosha) in which he talks about his working days.