Photo/Illutration Matt Keough was a starting pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers in the 1980s. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

"Moneyball," a 2011 American biographical sports drama starring Brad Pitt, is based on a nonfiction book about the general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team who tried to put together a competitive team on a limited budget.

The cast of real-life characters includes Matt Keough, the team's scout, who pitched for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan for four seasons after his time in Major League Baseball.

After hanging up his spikes, Keough returned to the Athletics as a special adviser.

Keough died on May 1, the front office announced. He was 64.

And according to a U.S. daily, he had just lost his week-old grandchild in mid-April.

"He had the most effective breaking balls for retiring batters on infield outs," recalled Yoshio Yoshida, 86, the Tigers skipper who made the bold decision of choosing Keough as the starting pitcher of the season opener in the latter's rookie year with the team.

"He went right on to score double-digit wins that year. He was great."

The right-hander with long hair and a mustache arrived in Japan in 1987, two years after the Tigers clinched the league pennant for the first time in 21 years.

But even with the big-time slugger Randy Bass, the team was languishing in the cellar.

"As the manager, the humiliation I experienced could be likened to plummeting from Heaven to Hell," Yoshida reminisced. "But it was Keough who helped me through that dark age."

Keough had close ties with Japan. He lived in the Kansai region as a young boy because his father, a former major leaguer, played for the Nankai Hawks in 1968.

Having picked up some Japanese, Keough would crack up his Tigers teammates by making a pun of his name which, pronounced the Japanese way, came out as "mattokiyo"--something like "hang on, will you."

During his four seasons as the Tigers ace pitcher, the team remained a perennial cellar dweller, except for one year when it ended just one notch above.

I still recall him pitching one losing game after another, persevering like an ascetic monk.

No matter how hard the going gets, a real pro knows to grit their teeth and fulfill their duty.

And that's a life lesson I learned from Keough, who was a side player in baseball as well as in the film.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 9

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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