While I thought that this was initially the Nippon Professional Baseball League all time home run hitter it turns out that it was his battery mate. What a remarkable career to win NINE Japan Series in a row (Nippon's equivalent to MLB's World Series)
His passing was also announced in special extra editions of newspapers that are handed out on street corners -- a throwback to breaking news in an earlier time.
What a touching throwback by the Japanese media!
He helped pave the way for Japanese players to come to MLB and I personally cannot imagine a league that never had Ichiro or Shohei. The impact those two have had on the game is hard to put into words. It now makes a ton of sense why last night Shohei did not talk to reporters.
Ohtani posted three photos of himself with Nagashima on social media before the Los Angeles Dodgers' game on Monday night -- including two that were clearly taken during the Dodgers' visit to Tokyo last March for the first two games of the regular season."May your soul rest in peace," Ohtani wrote.