Makoto Kozuru

Makoto Kozuru (小鶴 誠, December 17, 1922 – June 2, 2003) was a Japanese professional baseball player who played in both the Japanese Baseball League and Nippon Professional Baseball as an outfielder and infielder. Nicknamed "The Japanese DiMaggio," he made his professional debut at age 19 with Nagoya-gun, the club that eventually became the Chunichi Dragons. After two seasons he served in the Japanese navy in 1944 and 1945, then returned to his original team for the 1946 and 1947 seasons. He spent 1948 with the Kyuei Flyers and 1949 with the Daiei Stars, hitting .361 in 1949 to lead the league in hitting and earn Best Nine Award honors.

In 1950, the first year of Nippon Professional Baseball, Kozuru joined the Shochiku Robins and produced one of the finest seasons in Japanese baseball history. He hit .355, drove in 161 runs—still the Japanese record for most RBIs in a single season—and hit 51 home runs, becoming the first Japanese player to break the 50-homer mark in a single season. He was named the Central League's Most Valuable Player that year.

Kozuru was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.