Player Born in
Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, he played for Kumamoto Tech (Kumamoto) in the 1937
Summer Kōshien. Kumamoto advanced to the championship game, but lost. After the game, Kawakami grabbed a handful of dirt from the playing field of
Kōshien Stadium and put it in his uniform pocket as a memento. This became known as the original scooping of "the dirt of Kōshien" (甲子園の土 Kōshien no tsuchi?). Since then, as a memento of their fleeting time on the hallowed grounds of Kōshien, players from the losing teams take home a pouch of the precious soil. Kawakami played for
Tokyo Kyojin/
Yomiuri Giants between 1938 and 1958 (though he missed the years 1943–1945 when he served in the Japanese military). Kawakami signed with the Giants as a pitcher/first baseman, and actually pitched in 39 games between 1938 and 1941, compiling 11 wins against 9 losses, with an excellent 2.61 ERA. He converted full-time to first base in 1942. In 1951, he struck out only six times, which is the Japanese single-season tie record. In 1954, Kawakami hit the first
cycle in Yomiuri Giants' franchise history. In the years prior to the formation of NPB, the Japanese Baseball League held a Best Nine Award in 1940, 1947, 1948, and 1949, with Kawakami being named to the Best Nine each time at the position of first base. In NPB, Kawakami was named to the Central League Best Nine six times for a total of ten times as a player.
Manager As manager of the Giants from 1961 to 1974, he was known for his ruthless, tough-love style, one that took inspiration from the
Los Angeles Dodgers (specifically the guide "The Dodgers Way to Play Baseball" by
Al Campanis) in having a consistent team culture in tactics and positioning that most notably went for closers to finish games rather than just retaining the starter for the whole game. He would lead the Yomiuri Giants to nine consecutive championships. He went 1,066–739–61 as manager while winning 44 of 62 playoff games, both of which are still the best marks in Giants history. In eleven trips to the Japan Series as manager, the Giants played in a Game 7 just once (1963). Kawakami was a strong advocate for keeping the league exclusively Asian only while having a strategy of "controlled baseball" with his players that had strenuous practices to go along with limiting the press in access;
Isao Shibata notably stated he never stole a base unless he was told to by Kawakami. He stated the following mantra to his players constantly: “Let them say what they want to say, and we will answer with results by season’s end.” == Filmography ==