Highly touted as a rookie fresh from high school, the sidearming Enatsu won 12 games
for the Hanshin Tigers. He followed with 25 victories, a Japanese record 401 strikeouts,
and a 2-1, 10-inning loss to the powerful Yomiuri Giants in the game that decided
the 1968 pennant. In 1969 he pitched 34 consecutive shutout innings against Yomiuri
for six of his 15 victories in a season shortened by elbow pain. He rebounded to
go 21-14 in 1970 but was suspended for two weeks over alleged involvement with gamblers.
When he again lost the game that meant the pennant, he became Japan's leading target
of fan abuse and media criticism. He openly feuded with manager and fellow star pitcher
Minoru Murayama over his workload.
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Handicapped by arm trouble and a heart condition
aggravated by chain-smoking, Enatsu still won 20 games in 1972 and 1973. Slumping
the next two seasons, he was pronounced washed up at age 27. He scored a brilliant
comeback following his trade to Hiroshima, becoming the first player to be named
MVP in both Japanese major leagues. Working mainly in relief, he contributed a 9-5,
2.66 record to Hiroshima's 1979 championship.
Enatsu was the winningest and highest-paid
active pitcher in Japan when he was released by the Seibu Lions in 1984 after a shoving
match with the manager. In 1985, at age 36, he signed a minor league contract with
the Milwaukee Brewers, hoping to make the major league team in spring training. He
didn't, amid intense publicity. He refused a minor league assignment and returned
to Japan.
(MC)
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