Kazuhisa Inao


Kazuhisa Inao was a Japanese pitcher and manager in Nippon Professional Baseball. He played all of his professional seasons for the Nishitetsu Lions.
In the 1956 Japan Series, he won all three of his starts to deliver the Lions their first championship. He was given the Fighting Spirit Award, becoming the first player to be given the award for the winning team. In 1957, he won 20 consecutive games and both of his Japan Series starts in another championship run. In the 1958 Japan Series, tasked to save his team from a 3–0 series deficit, he started four consecutive games and won all of them to become the first NPB team to overcome a 3–0 series deficit, and Inao even hit a home in the Game 5 victory as the Lions won their third straight title; he was named Series MVP for his efforts. He was the Pacific League's Most Valuable Player in 1957 and 1958. He had 42 wins in 1961. Fans called his great success "God, Buddha, Inao".
In 1964, he injured his shoulder but came back to full-time pitching, mainly in relief the next season. He retired as a player in 1969, and went on to manage the Nishitetsu Lions from 1970 to 1974.
He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993. His number 24 was retired by the Saitama Seibu Lions on April 30, 2012.

Career statistics

Titles and Award

  • Rookie of the Year :
  • Wins Champion : 4 times
  • Winning Percentage Champion: 2 times
  • ERA Champion : 5 times
  • Strikeout Champion : 3 times
  • MVP : 2 times
  • Best Nine : 5 times

Record