80-Year-Old Veteran Broadcaster Miyata Tsuneki Recounts Legendary Players and Iconic Games That Defined an Era

Calling a historic moment

“Hey Miyata! Right now Kaneda is pitching! If he wins, it’ll be his 400th win!”

At around 8 p.m. on the final stretch of the 1969 season, Nippon Broadcasting announcer Nobuki Miyata (84) rushed to Korakuen Stadium after receiving a panicked phone call from his superior.

That day, Miyata had finished his assigned broadcast and was on overnight duty at the headquarters when he was suddenly assigned to record commentary for a historic moment. The broadcast booth behind home plate was fully equipped. Without time to catch his breath, the milestone was achieved. Miyata raised his voice.

“‘Kaneda achieves 400 wins! Kaneda achieves 400 wins! Kaneda looks happy. Kaneda looks happy,’ I was desperately shouting in a high-pitched voice. I was really not very good at it. But that moment is still etched in my memory.”

The flagship baseball broadcast program of Nippon Broadcasting System, “Nippon Broadcasting Show Up Night,” is marking its 60th anniversary this year. Miyata supported the program from its early days and continues to provide play-by-play commentary as Japan’s first 80-something-year-old announcer.

“I graduated from Kokugakuin University and joined Nippon Broadcasting in 1964. I was a classmate of Akihiro Saito, who later became active on ‘All Night Nippon,’ and in the same year Yuuri Osawa joined TBS. I started working in baseball broadcasting in my second year.”

From 1965, when Miyata began full-scale commentary, the Yomiuri Giants entered their legendary nine-year championship run. The “ON batting duo” of Sadaharu Oh, who had set a then-professional record of 55 home runs the previous year, and superstar Shigeo Nagashima captivated baseball fans nationwide. Miyata’s broadcasting career began amid the excitement of this golden era of professional baseball.

“For a while, I wasn’t allowed to do nationally broadcast games. That’s why being able to commentate Kaneda’s 400th win on October 10, 1969, was so special. I was originally a fan of the Kokutetsu team, so I had loved Kaneda since my student days.”

“But I was so absorbed in the commentary that when I listen back now, I only talk about Kaneda’s condition even though Oh and Nagashima were playing defense too. From a commentator’s standpoint, it’s a failure (laughs).”

After retirement, Kaneda became a top-class commentator with a unique presence and frank speech.

“I once went out for dinner with him during a Kansai trip. It was a wonderful restaurant specializing in fish, where you ate sashimi with liver soy sauce. He told us, ‘Eat as much as you want,’ and I remember being deeply impressed by his generosity. I was so nervous that I don’t remember the taste or much of the conversation.”

“Besides Kaneda, there were many other commentators who took care of me. The scariest was Junzo Sekine right after he retired. When I said, ‘Sekine-san, this is a situation where they really need a run,’ he replied, ‘You know, you always want runs—whether it’s a thousand or ten thousand.’”

“And when I said, ‘Pitcher Tsuneo Horiuchi is sweating hard today trying to break out of his slump,’ he said, ‘Baseball players always run, you know~.’ I almost said, ‘I’m done!’ and left my seat (laughs).”

Current and managerial eras

He also conducted countless interviews with the “Mr. Pro Baseball,” Shigeo Nagashima, who witnessed Kaneda’s 400th win from third base.

“At the time, Nippon Broadcasting System had a program called ‘ON Diary’ before the live game broadcasts. It featured separate segments on Mr. Oh and Mr. Nagashima. A memorable moment was July 1, 1973, at Koshien Stadium. That day, Hanshin pitcher Jiro Ueda had kept the Yomiuri Giants hitless through two outs in the ninth inning, but at the very end, Nagashima hit a single to left field to spoil the no-hitter.

The next day, I was able to interview Nagashima on the Shinkansen returning to Tokyo with the Giants team. Nagashima, who was sitting in the Green Car, kindly agreed to speak even during the trip, saying ‘Ha~i!’ and talked about the hit from the previous day.”

On the other hand, unlike his always cheerful playing days, during his managerial years he sometimes revealed his painful state of mind.

“Especially in his first year as manager, the team finished in last place for the first time in franchise history, a disastrous season. I followed him all over the country, and it was the worst journey. When he lost, Nagashima gave off an aura that made it hard to approach him.

One day, Nagashima, sitting on the Hanshin Koshien Stadium third-base bench before a game against their rivals, agreed to an interview. He said, ‘Games here are like fights with Hanshin. But you know, as a manager, it’s very hard to bring together all 65 members of the Giants’ His words contained both the unchanging fighting spirit of Nagashima and a vulnerability he never showed as a player.”

The Home Run King was the opposite of Nagashima.

“Mr. Oh was intimidating during his playing days. He was such an overwhelming presence that it took courage just to speak to him. But after becoming a manager, he would answer interviews equally, whether it was a veteran reporter or a young one. Most baseball players tend to change their expression once they become managers.

Actually, I also called the broadcast of the game on August 31, 1977, when Hank Aaron tied the then-world record of 755 career home runs in the majors. I still remember shouting, ‘He’s tied it, he’s tied it—755!’ It was such a historic record, I now think I should have said something more meaningful! (laughs)”

【Part 2】80-year-old play-by-play announcer Tomoki Miyata: “Doing baseball commentary is, after all, fun”

 

From the April 10, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY”