It was learned on the 31st that Hidetoshi Hakamada, a former catcher for the Lotte Giants, passed away in early February. He was 69 years old. While a student at Shizuoka Automobile Technical High School (now Shizuoka Kita), he was drafted by Lotte in 1973 as the third pick, but he refused and enrolled at Hosei University. He formed a battery with fellow student Taku Egawa, and over four years led Hosei University to five championships in the Tokyo Big 6 University League, ushering in a golden age for the university. In 1977, he was drafted by Lotte again as the first pick and joined the team. After appearing in 96 games in 1982, he established himself as a regular.
He was known for his sickle pitching style, and made a name for himself as the partner of the late Murata Choji, who had just recovered from surgery on his right elbow. He was famous for catch powerful fastballs, sharp fork and slider without a sign. This was due to Murata's poor eyesight and as a measure against sign stealing, but the price was that he suffered constant injuries. For his retirement appearance against Seibu (Kawasaki) on October 13, 1990, he was called up from the second team at the request of the right-handed pitcher and put on the mask. He announced that he would also retire on the same day, and said in an interview with Sports Hochi, "Today, I pitched without a sign until runner reached base."
During his 13 years as an active player, he played in a total of 911 games, with a batting average of .231, 38 Home Run, and 231 RBI. After retiring, he became a coach for the second team at Lotte, and served as a battery coach and scout for the first team. He also served as a coach at Seibu for two years. He was also enthusiastic about training the next generation, including coaching at BC Musashi.
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