Miyake Hiroshi 三宅博 was the chief scorer for the Hanshin Tigers club in the 1980s and 1990s and one of the most respected behind-the-scenes analysts of the game. He was a star player at Kurashiki Technical High School in the late 1950s, and his team appeared three times in the Koshien tournaments (the spring tournaments in 1958 and 1959 and the summer tournament in 1959). He was drafted by Hanshin in 1960 and began what was hoped to be a standout career as an infielder (he played shortstop and second base). However, in 1964, he suffered a serious rupture of his right knee ligaments while base-running. He could not recover from the injury and had to retire the following year.
Miyake actually left baseball for years, but 1980s, he returned to the Hanshin club as a coach and then as scorer. He served in that position for 24 years and was instrumental in developing the club’s data collection and analysis systems. [After retiring in 2006, he became scorer for Japan’s 2008 Beijing Olympic baseball team, which was managed by Hoshino Sen’ichi.]
Miyake has written two books about his work as a scorer, with fascinating insights and many details about this job, its routines, and its role in game preparation.
(2013). 「プロ」の野球観戦術：虎のスコアラーが教える, 祥伝社黄金文庫. Tokyo: 祥伝社.
(2012). 虎の 007: スコアラー室から見た阪神タイガースの戦略, 角川グループパブリッシング. Tokyo: 角川マガジンズ.
