Tag Archives: wrestling

Famous for Something Else: Shohei “Giant” Baba, Japanese Pro Wrestler

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Way back during the 2016 Blogathon (which I’ve never been able to do again due to “life”), I did a post on how the grandfather of John Cena, Tony Lupien, played in the big leagues during the 1940s. We’ve also covered “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s minor league career. Today we’re going back to the world of professional wrestling, albeit in Japan.

The player-turned-wrestler in question is Shohei Baba, better known as Giant Baba. While he had some stints in the USA, in Japan he is one of the most famous wrestlers ever and is remembered as the co-founder of the All-Japan Pro Wrestling organization.

Standing anywhere between 6’6″ and 6’10” depending on the source, Baba is believed to have been one of the tallest people to ever play baseball professionally in Japan. According to Wikipedia (which sources Japanese articles), Baba was known for his height from the beginning: in high school he was known as “Sanjo High School’s giant pitcher.” He had the talent to get signed by the Yomiuri Giants, and proceeded to do very well in the minor leagues in Japan, at one point even being named best pitcher in the minor league he was in. However, health injuries (including a brain tumor!) and injuries meant he never made it to the top level very often. He only pitched in three games for the top club, although he did do well in that limited action, holding a 1.29 ERA:

YearAgeAgeDifTmLgLevWLW-L%ERARA9GGSGFCGSHOIPHRERHRBBIBBSOHBPBKWPBFWHIPH9HR9BB9SO9
195719-4.4YomiuriJPCLFgn01.0001.291.29312007.05110003000260.7146.40.00.03.9
AllAllAllAll01.0001.291.29312007.05110003000260.7146.40.00.03.9

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/22/2022.

A few years later, he’d give up baseball and step into the ring. The rest is history.

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(Blogathon ’16!) Related To Somebody Famous For Something Else: Tony Lupien, WWE Star John Cena’s Grandpa

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This post is part of the 2016 Baseball Continuum Blogathon For Charity, benefiting the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation. The Roswell Park Alliance Foundation is the charitable arm of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and funds raised will be “put to immediate use to increase the pace from research trials into improved clinical care, to ensure state-of-the-art facilities, and to help improve the quality of life for patients and their families.” Please donate through the Blogathon’s GoFundMe page.

I’m not much of a wrestling fan, but I know a great meme when I see one, and the meme related to WWE Superstar John Cena is a good one:

For those of you who don’t want to watch that, in essence, it is what happens when a completely unrelated scene is suddenly interrupted by the cry of “JOHN CENA!” or “HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA!” and his theme music begins to play. It’s very stupid, but also hilarious.

But, did you know that the “public face” of the WWE is the grandson of a baseball player? And not just any baseball player, but an honest-to-goodness MLB player: Tony Lupien of the 1940s Red Sox, Phillies and White Sox. In fact, the first-baseman even received MVP votes during the depleted years of WWII:

Screen Shot 2016-01-27 at 11.00.11 AMHere are his Minor League stats:

Screen Shot 2016-01-27 at 11.01.46 AMAfter his career, Lupien went on to be manager and coach, including bringing Dartmouth University to the 1970 College World Series. He was also involved- both during and after his career- with the labor movement, including help co-author The Imperfect Diamond, a history of baseball’s labor relations up through the 1970s.

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At 8 AM: The start of “International Morning”, several hours of international baseball content

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This post has been part of the 2016 Baseball Continuum Blogathon For Charity, benefiting the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation. The Roswell Park Alliance Foundation is the charitable arm of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and funds raised will be “put to immediate use to increase the pace from research trials into improved clinical care, to ensure state-of-the-art facilities, and to help improve the quality of life for patients and their families.” Please donate through the Blogathon’s GoFundMe page.

OLYMPICS CONTINUUM: In which the IOC kicks out wrestling, basically the oldest sport there is

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Well, let it not be said that Olympics discriminates based on age: they have reportedly cut wrestling from the 2020 Olympics.

Yes, wrestling. One of the oldest sports in the world and one practiced unquestionably around the world, a mainstay of the Olympics since ancient times, has been dropped from the Olympics, while such sports as Modern Pentathlon, Rhythmic Gymnastics and Synchronized Swimming will remain.

In other words, yes, baseball and softball no longer have the biggest beef with the Olympics. Also, if I’m track and field or boxing, I’m starting to get worried about 2024, because if they can cut out wrestling, nobody is safe, even if the Ancient Greeks played it.

Famous for something else: Randy “Macho Man” Savage

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Randy Poffo’s baseball career took a turn for the worst as he was hit by a series of injuries, but he found a second career as Randy “Macho Man” Savage.

Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
1971 18 Cardinals GULF Rk STL 35 81 63 10 18 3 2 2 13 2 0 14 16 .286 .420 .492 .912 31 2 0 2
1972 19 Cardinals GULF Rk STL 52 168 46 3 4 3 .274 .393 66
1973 20 2 Teams 2 Lgs A-Rk STL 71 191 177 7 50 14 4 2 11 0 0 13 11 .282 .330 .441 .771 78 0 0 1
1973 20 Red Birds GULF Rk STL 25 75 61 7 21 6 2 0 11 0 0 13 11 .344 .453 .508 .962 31 0 0 1
1973 20 Orangeburg WCRS A 46 116 29 8 2 2 .250 .405 47
1974 21 Tampa FLOR A CIN 131 521 461 36 107 19 6 9 66 3 5 46 85 .232 .304 .358 .662 165 14 5 2 7 4
4 Seasons 289 961 869 53 221 39 16 16 90 5 5 73 112 .254 .314 .391 .705 340 14 7 2 10 4
Rk (3 seasons) Rk 112 324 292 17 85 12 8 5 24 2 0 27 27 .291 .352 .438 .790 128 2 0 3
A (2 seasons) A 177 637 577 36 136 27 8 11 66 3 5 46 85 .236 .294 .367 .662 212 14 5 2 7 4
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/17/2013.