In memoriam, Shigeo Nagashima: “Looking at his art collection”…Former NTV announcer Noriko Baba reveals “Mr. Nagashima’s artistic side”.

Noriko Baba, 51, a freelance announcer, was assigned to the Giants in 2000, her fourth year with NTV. The manager at the time was Shigeo Nagashima (age 89), who passed away on June 3. After Nagashima retired as manager the following year, he continued his friendship with the Giants. When Baba sat down to dinner for the first time when he was in charge of the Giants, he caught a glimpse of an unexpected side of Mr. Nagashima. Baba recounts the following secret story about her time with Mr. Nagashima.

I was once asked, “How are you doing? I was even interviewed in reverse.

Baba Noriko: Mr. Nagashima is as bright as the sun for me. When I think back on him, I feel warm and fuzzy inside. He was a tremendous presence.

We once had lunch together before a night game against Chunichi. The place was a large private room overlooking Nagoya Castle. I arrived about 15 minutes before the appointed time, but Mr. Nagashima was already in the room looking at an art book of landscapes.

I had heard that there were days when he was so frustrated as a director that he could not sleep, so it was refreshing to see him in a relaxed atmosphere appreciating art.

On the other hand, when I had dinner with Hakuho, a former yokozuna, at a Japanese restaurant in Tokyo, he was very interested in the “secret of Hakuho’s strength” and asked me many questions, seemingly unable to contain his excitement.

I think Mr. Nagashima must have seen beauty in both “paintings” and “strength of athletes,” which at first glance seem to be opposites of each other. I feel that he loved “beautiful things.

His mischievous side

During our coverage of the Miyazaki camp, there was this incident. When Mr. Nagashima saw me, he took the trouble to stop the supervisor’s car in which I was riding. He rolled down his window and said “Hi~” to me. …… After a moment’s pause, he said, “Sensei!

Sensei!”

He probably forgot my name and said it in a flash. The people around me were relaxed, and laughter broke out naturally.

I was even asked, in a mischievous manner, “How are you doing in your private life these days? I was once asked, “What’s going on in your private life? When I replied, “Unfortunately, nothing much. I always get a smirk on my face. The nuance varied from time to time, but I was happy to see that he was warmly watching over me.

Even after he retired as director, our relationship continued. Mr. Nagashima is also a caring person.’ After he suffered a stroke in March 2004, I joined him once for a morning walk for rehabilitation.

Unfortunately, it was raining that day, and he was concerned about my footing. I remember that I was struck by his calmness, which was different from when I was his supervisor.

Recently, I have only been able to see him about once a year. Whenever we met, he would say to me , “I always watch “Song Premium” (BS Nippon TV), in which I appear. I asked him to please appear on the program, and we even talked about the possibility of doing “Shigeo Nagashima’s Masterpiece Selection” someday.

Mysterious Experience

The day before Mr. Nagashima passed away on June 3, I had a strange experience.

I was talking about baseball with Mr. Daikichi Hakata, with whom I was working on the program. We got into a conversation about Hideki Matsui and Kazuhiro Kiyohara being No. 4 when I was in charge of the Giants, and he said, “When Mr. Nagashima was manager, right?

At the hair salon I went to that afternoon, the staff talked about baseball, which I had never done before, and Mr. Nagashima’s name came up. I couldn’t believe that the day before he passed away, the topic of Mr. Nagashima came up twice. …… If Mr. Nagashima had come to greet us, we could not be more honored.

*The complete interview with both Aoyama and Baba can be read in the ” In Memoriam” emergency extra edition of Shigeo Nagashima, now on sale.

From the July 18-25, 2025 issue of FRIDAY