Norichika Aoki led Japanese baseball with a .358 batting average and turned out the second most single-season hits (209) in Central League history last year.
Yet there he stood at the edge of the home dugout, bat in hand, on Saturday as a home crowd satisfied after their Tokyo Yakult Swallows' 3-0 victory over the Hiroshima Carp filed out of Jingu Stadium.
"Stay out of sight until the fans are gone or they'll never leave," coach Takao Ise said as he sat on the dugout bench, hands that collected 570 hits over 14 NPB seasons, tucked comfortably into the pockets of his team jacket.