Baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima was synonymous with the X60 Toyota Mark II

On June 3 baseball star Shigeo Nagashima passed away from lung cancer in a Tokyo hospital. Voted 1958’s Rookie of the Year, he was instrumental in establishing the Yomiuri Giants as Japan’s greatest baseball dynasty. By the time Nagashima retired in In 1980 he was a household name. Two years later he became Toyota’s spokesman for the new X60 Mark II.

Nagashima was so influential a player that his nickname in Japanese media was “Mr Baseball”. With teammate Sadaharu Oh, whom he followed in the batting lineup, they were known as the ON Cannon for their deadly back-to-back power bombs. Nagashima helped the Giants take a record nine consecutive Japan Series (the equivalent to our World Series) titles, from 1965 to 1973.

Though the Mark II was Nagashima’s most famous automotive endorsement, it wasn’t his first. He appeared in a commercial for the Isuzu Bellel in the 1960s and for Nippon Oil (now Eneos). Just before the X60’s debut he starred in a spot for the Toyota Corona Extra Saloon.

In 1982 Toyota debuted the facelifted fourth-generation Mark II. Nagashima shocked fans with his appearance, perfectly matched with the luxury sedan’s sturdy image. One of the main upgrades was the new 160ps multivalve twin-cam 1G-GE straight-six, co-developed with Yamaha and named the Lasre α. To drive the point home, Nagashima steps out of the car at the end of the commercial and says, “It’s good to have power.”

With Nagashima’s help, the X60 Mark II became a home run, so to speak. It paved the way for Japan’s domestic luxury car boom of the 80s. He starred in a several more Mark II commercials, including a spot in which Nagashima shows off his baseball skills for the 1983 Mark II Grande Limited, a model commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Corona Mark II’s debut in 1968.

During his 17-year pro career Nagashima won the title of top hitter six times, home run champion twice, RBI champion five times, and was selected as the league’s MVP five times. In 1993 he returned to the Giants as a coach, leading the team to two additional championships. He is one of the reasons why old school Toyota kaido racers have a baseball bat displayed in their rear windows.

There have been other sports heroes that have appeared in product endorsements, but Nagashima’s a stand out for being brilliantly suited to the times. He retired just as Japan was entering its Bubble Era, and fans that had witnessed his incredible achievements on the field had aged into the ideal customers for Toyota’s burgeoning premium car onslaught.

As a result, like Nissan’s Ken and Mary adverts, Nagashima’s Toyota spots occupy a cultural space in Japan’s history. The X60 Mark II is known to many average people not only for the appeal of the car itself, but for Mr Baseball’s commercials. Shigeo Nagashima was 89 years old. He is survived by his son Kazushige, a former baseball player and car enthusiast who has owned several Toyota models.