Koyama enjoyed the longest career of any Japanese pitcher by combining bull’s-eye control with a baffling variety of motions, ranging from straight over-the-top to deep submarine. He “could throw strikes blindfolded,” said Daryl Spencer. Nonetheless, Koyama walked Spencer four times on 16 consecutive balls in late 1965 to ensure that Katsuya Nomura, and not the American Spencer, would win the home run title.
