The History Making Home-run King of Japanese Baseball

OH Sadaharu

Baseball is more popular than football in Japan. Japanese baseball championship games are held in October and Japanese are fascinated by the sport. In the history of the game in Japan, one of the standout names is OH Sadaharu, the great first field home-run batter. Now the director of the Softbank Hawks, Oh holds the world record of 868 home-runs. Besides this, he holds almost all the home-run records including the Japanese season’s tie record of 55 home-runs, four consecutive home-runs, and was named ‘home-run king’ for 15 seasons. Furthermore, he scored the highest batting average in five seasons, 13 RBI (run batted in), two triple crowns and nine MVPs. He is the most powerful slugger in Japanese baseball history.

Oh was born to a Taiwanese father and a Japanese mother. In high school, he was a pitcher and fourth batter and became a champion winning pitcher in the Spring National Invitational High School Baseball Tournament in 1957. In 1959, Oh joined the Yomiuri Giants, otherwise known as “Kyojin” with the player number “1.” The then team director MIZUHARA Shigeru advised Oh to become a batter. However, it was not easy. He could not make any hits during 26 consecutive times at bat, and only made a hit on the 27th — a home-run which symbolized his future.

However even though his low batting average continued, Mizuhara trusted Oh’s talent and continued to use him in the rest of the games. Oh’s father thanked Mizuhara saying, “Sadaharu of today owes much to Director Mizuhara.” His low batting average continued into the next year and the next. It was only after his fourth year with the Giants that Oh proved his worth. The chance came when his former baseball teacher ARAKAWA Hiroshi was invited to join the Giants as a batting coach.

Hard training needed to build up his unique “Flamingo Batting” style
Oh was a junior high school student when he first met Arakawa. Arakawa (then a professional baseball player) happened to see Oh playing baseball at a riverside ground. Arakawa was impressed by the boy’s talent and advised him how to hit. Soon after taking Arakawa’s advice, Oh hit a home-run, and subsequently, Arakawa became Oh’s batting coach. In order to make a big hit, Arakawa taught Oh the “Flamingo Batting” style. Usually batters stand on two feet before taking a swing, but this new style called for the batter to stand on one foot. To master the Flamingo Batting style, Oh received training in a room every night. He practiced so much that the tatami mat wore out.

His efforts were rewarded. In his fourth year at the Giants, Oh hit 38 home-runs and became the home-run king. This was also when the legendary “ON Cannon,” the strongest pair of sluggers in Japanese baseball history, was born. The name represents the combination of the initials of ‘Oh’ and ‘Nagashima.’ NAGASHIMA Shigeo, home-run king of the Tokyo Six-University League, joined the Giants in 1958, one year before Oh. Nagashima produced excellent results and Japan fell for Nagashima fever. Oh also hooked into the fever. Thanks to the good results of both sluggers, the Giants won an unbelievable nine consecutive championships. This record is unlikely to be broken perhaps over the next 100 years, even in the major leagues.

In 1977, Oh at last broke American Hank Aaron’s world record of 755. To recognize the achievement, the Japanese government presented Oh with the “National Honor Award.” He retired from playing in 1980.

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