Kazuhisa Inao
# Kazuhisa Inao

Kazuhisa Inao (稲尾 和久, Inao Kazuhisa, June 10, 1937 – November 13, 2007) was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher. In 1957, he won 20 consecutive games. In 1958 Japan Series, he pitched six games and won 4 consecutive games after his team lost 3 games. He even hit a home run in fifth game of Japan Series. 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, and in 1965 came back to full-time pitching, mainly in relief. 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

| Year | Team | G | CG | SHO | W | L | PCT | IP | H | HR | BB | HBP | SO | WP | R | ER | ERA |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1956 | Nishitetsu Lions | 61 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 6 | .778 | 262.1 | 153 | 2 | 73 | 8 | 182 | 2 | 47 | 31 | 1.06 |
| 1957 | Nishitetsu Lions | 68 | 20 | 5 | 35 | 6 | .854 | 373.2 | 243 | 14 | 76 | 7 | 288 | 1 | 72 | 57 | 1.37 |
| 1958 | Nishitetsu Lions | 72 | 19 | 6 | 33 | 10 | .767 | 373.0 | 269 | 8 | 76 | 4 | 334 | 2 | 74 | 59 | 1.42 |
| 1959 | Nishitetsu Lions | 75 | 23 | 5 | 30 | 15 | .667 | 402.1 | 300 | 14 | 82 | 9 | 321 | 1 | 86 | 74 | 1.65 |
| 1960 | Nishitetsu Lions | 39 | 19 | 3 | 20 | 7 | .741 | 243.0 | 211 | 15 | 51 | 4 | 179 | 0 | 80 | 70 | 2.59 |
| 1961 | Nishitetsu Lions | 78 | 25 | 7 | 42 | 14 | .750 | 404.0 | 308 | 22 | 72 | 6 | 353 | 3 | 93 | 76 | 1.69 |
| 1962 | Nishitetsu Lions | 57 | 23 | 6 | 25 | 18 | .581 | 320.2 | 281 | 27 | 56 | 4 | 228 | 1 | 98 | 82 | 2.30 |
| 1963 | Nishitetsu Lions | 74 | 24 | 2 | 28 | 16 | .636 | 386.1 | 358 | 26 | 70 | 10 | 226 | 1 | 121 | 109 | 2.54 |
| 1964 | Nishitetsu Lions | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 11.1 | 18 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 10.64 |
| 1965 | Nishitetsu Lions | 38 | 13 | 2 | 13 | 6 | .684 | 216.0 | 191 | 16 | 50 | 4 | 101 | 0 | 71 | 57 | 2.38 |
| 1966 | Nishitetsu Lions | 54 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 10 | .524 | 185.2 | 134 | 11 | 23 | 5 | 134 | 0 | 45 | 37 | 1.79 |
| 1967 | Nishitetsu Lions | 46 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 9 | .471 | 129.0 | 114 | 11 | 22 | 5 | 87 | 1 | 40 | 38 | 2.65 |
| 1968 | Nishitetsu Lions | 56 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 11 | .450 | 195.0 | 168 | 22 | 32 | 5 | 93 | 0 | 68 | 60 | 2.77 |
| 1969 | Nishitetsu Lions | 32 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .125 | 97.0 | 92 | 9 | 27 | 2 | 46 | 0 | 36 | 30 | 2.78 |
| Career Total | Career Total | 756 | 179 | 43 | 276 | 137 | .668 | 3599.0 | 2840 | 199 | 719 | 73 | 2574 | 12 | 944 | 793 | 1.98 |
| Career Total | Career Total | (7th) | | | (8th) | | | (10th) | | | | | (8th) | | | | (3rd) |

* Bolded figures are league-leading

### Titles and Award

* Rookie of the Year : (1956)
* Wins Champion : 4 times (1957,1958,1961,1963)
* Winning Percentage Champion: 2 times (1957,1961)
* ERA Champion : 5 times (1956–1958,1961,1966)
* Strikeout Champion : 3 times (1958,1961,1963)
* MVP : 2 times (1957–1958)
* Best Nine : 5 times (1957–1958,1961–1963)

### Record

* 42 Wins (1961) (National Record, tied)
* 20 consecutive wins (1957) (National Record)
* 78 Games Played (1961) (Pacific League Record)
* 1.06 ERA (1956) (Pacific League Record, National Rookie-Year Record)
* 404 inning Pitched (1961) (Pacific League Record)
* 11 wins in single month (Aug, 1956) (National Record)
* 4 complete game in single Japan Series (1958) (Japan Series Record, tied)
* 4 wins in single Japan Series (1958) (Japan Series Record, tied)
* 11 career wins in Japan Series (tied with Tsuneo Horiuchi)
