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Katsuya Nomura

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Nomura in 1959

Katsuya Nomura (野村 克也, Nomura Katsuya, 29 June 1935 – 11 February 2020) was a Japanese baseball player and manager. He played as a catcher in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). From 1954 to 1977, he played for the Nankai Hawks (now the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks). He also played for the Lotte Orions (1978) and the Seibu Lions (1979–80). He was awarded the Pacific League MVP Award five times. As of 2020, he holds the record for second-most home runs and RBIs in NPB history.

Nomura was a player-manager for the last eight years he was with the Hawks. He lead them to the Pacific League title in 1973. He later became full-time manager of the Yakult Swallows. He managed the team to four league titles and three Japan Series championships from 1990 to 1998. Later, he managed the Hanshin Tigers (1999–2001) and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (2006–2009). As a manager, Nomura has 1,565 wins. This is the fifth-most wins of any manager in NPB history. He was added to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

His first wife died of Subarachnoid hemorrhage in 1982. He was later married to Sachiyo until her death in 2017. The couple's son was NPB player Katsunori Nomura.

On 11 February 2020, Nomura died of a heart attack in Setagaya, Tokyo. He was 84.[1]

References

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  1. "Baseball legend Katsuya Nomura dies at 84". The Japan Times. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.[permanent dead link]

Other websites

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