Giants. He openly resented this and felt he never received the attention that he deserved as a player. Over 26-season playing career, however, Nomura amassed a number of awards, titles and records. During his time with the Hawks, he won five Pacific League MVP Awards – the most of any PL player and second-most all-time. Nomura also led the PL in home runs for nine seasons, eight of which were consecutive and won 19 Best Nine Awards for best catcher in the league. He accumulated 657 home runs, 1,988 RBIs and 2,901 hits in 3,017 games, all of which are 2nd in the all-time rankings. He was elected into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame by the Selection Committee for Players in 1989.; his copper plaque depicts him wearing his cap backwards with no team logo visible. Personal life While married to his first wife from 1960, Nomura started having an affair with Sachiyo in 1971, cohabited in 1972. became pregnant and gave birth to future NPB player Katsunori Nomura in 1973. Nomura remarried Sachiyo after divorced the first wife in 1978. The two remained married until her death in 2017 at age 85. Note that, The first wife died of Subarachnoid hemorrhage in 1982. Sports agents Kenny and Don Nomura, Sachiyo's children from her previous marriage, are Nomura's step-children. His granddaughter, Saya Nomura is an employee with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Nomura died of heart failure on February 11, 2020, at age 84. See also List of top Nippon Professional Baseball home run hitters List of Nippon Professional Baseball players with 1,000 runs batted in References External links Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference or NPB (in Japanese) 1935 births 2020 deaths Baseball people from Kyoto Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball catchers Nankai Hawks players Lotte Orions players Seibu Lions players Managers of baseball teams in Japan Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks managers Tokyo Yakult Swallows managers Hanshin Tigers managers Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles managers Baseball player-managers Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees