Feast your eyes on this:
You're looking at Shigeru Takada of the Yomiuri Giants.
And that card he's on is a piece of eye candy.
It's from a 1976 set of Japanese cards that I came across a few years ago on Sean's blog, Getting Back into Baseball Cards . . . in Japan. I sure was thankful for it, and figured with 2024 Opening Day around the corner, it would be a good time to finally circulate it around the blogs again.
Look at the angle of those lines and how the Takada family name follows along. Add a strong hitter's follow-through, and the whole design makes it seem like Shigeru has just walloped a
ball deep into left field. The flat, bright background colors only help the action stand out. (It also looks like there's a soft baseball cap tucked into
his back pocket, which always adds some coolness points.)
It's
just really good design. And remember, we're talking about a time when so much was done by
hand. Imagine an illustrator sitting at a drawing table with a ruler, pencils, pens, inks, masking tape, and paints, and creating this beautiful piece of art—all for a little
baseball card that kids might toss around or tack to their wall.
Pretty
special, isn't it?
As for the man himself, Shigeru Takada had a very successful 13-year career with the Giants. The outfielder was the 1968 Central League rookie of the year, and played for many seasons alongside Sadaharu Oh. Here are some career numbers:
1512 games played, 1384 hits, 838 runs, 229 doubles, 32 triples, 139 home runs, 499 RBI, 200 stolen bases, .273/.339/.414.
Takada also made multiple All-Star teams, took home multiple Diamond Glove awards, and helped the Giants to six championships.
And he's got a heck of a baseball card up there.
Thanks, Sean, for the inspiration. Here's to the new MLB (and NPB) season!
