62
50
In 1962, Isao Shibata debuted as a pitcher for the Giants, but his talent was overlooked and he was told to switch to the field. A young girl named Kiriko appeared in front of the discouraged Shibata and presented him with a secret book of Kouga Ninjutsu that she found by chance in her hometown. With her encouragement, Shibata vowed to make a fresh start as a fielder, and learned the secrets of the ninja arts written in the book one by one.
The year is 1961. Sadaharu Oh of the Yomiuri Giants, in a critical situation due to an injury during a game, had a sudden flash of insight that enabled him to read the thoughts of the opposing pitcher. He remembered he had a similar experience in junior high school. He tried various methods, but the ability of the future sight worked only once in five. After much anguish, he consulted with Coach Arakawa, who taught him to trigger his ability by putting himself in an unstable state with the one-legged hitting method. From then on, Ou mass-produced home runs using the one-legged batting technique to become the undisputed No. 3 hitter of the Giants and win multiple home run crowns.