Ichiro Suzuki, Shohei Ohtani, Sadaharu Oh... These are just a few of the greatest baseball players in Japanese history. In this article, we'll learn a little more about the great names who have marked Japanese life in this sport that is so popular in the land of the rising sun.
Listamos abaixo os 10 jogadores de maior destaque de todas as épocas na modalidade. O beisebol, conhecido como Yakyuu (野球 - やきゅう) é o esporte mais visto e praticado pelos japoneses, principalmente se deixarmos de fora do bolo as artes marciais (sumô, aikidô, karatê e judô).
Leia também:
- Guide - All 12 Major Baseball Teams in Japan
- Diamond no Ace - Info; Final; Summary
- Shohei Ohtani - The genius of worldwide baseball
Table of Content
10 - Isao Harimoto
He holds the impressive record for the most hits in NPB history, with a total of 3085 hits. His significant contribution to the sport was recognized in 1990, when he was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
Harimoto is also known for being a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. After his retirement, he continued as a commentator and critic, sharing his vast experience and knowledge.
9 - Masanori Murakami
Masanori Murakami made history as his country's pioneer in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for the San Francisco Giants between 1964 and 1965, opening doors for future generations of Japanese players in the American league.
8 - Hideo Nomo
Legendary right-handed pitcher who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers between 1995 and 1998. In the MLB, he achieved an impressive 1918 strikeouts, while in the NPB he amassed an impressive 1204. The total strikeouts add up to 3122. He was the first Japanese player to move permanently to Major League Baseball in the United States.
In addition to the Dodgers, he also played for the New York Mets (1998), Milwaukee Brewers (1999), Detroit Tigers (2000), Boston Red Sox (2001), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2005) and Kansas City Royals (2008). He was an All-Star in 1995 and also won two no-hitters (1996 and 2001) in the league.
7 - Katsuya Nomura
Catcher who played for three teams in his career: Nankai Hawks, Lotte Orions and Seibu Lions. He won two Japan Series as an athlete and another three as a coach. He has 2901 career hits (H), 1988 runs batted in (RBI) and 657 home runs (HR).
Elected to the hall of fame in 1989.
6 - Koji Uehara
Legendary pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants and the Boston Red Sox. His resume includes a World Series (2013), an MLB All-Star selection (2014), American League MVP (2013), 9-time NPB All-Star and two Japan Series titles (2000 and 2002).
In addition to the Red Sox, Koji Uehara has also played for the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs.
5 - Shigeo Nagashima
"Mr. Giants" played for the Yomiuri Giants all his life, between 1958 and 1974. He also coached the team from 1975 to 1980 and returned in the 1990s, when he led the team from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (chosen in 1988), Nagashima is widely regarded as one of the best of all time. He played third base and won 11 Japan Series titles as an athlete and 3 more as a coach.
4 - Hideki Matsui
Nicknamed "Godzilla", Hideki Matsui made history playing for the New York Yankees for seven seasons (2003-2009). Elected an All-Star in 2003 and 2004, he won the 2009 World Series and was that year's MVP.
He is also known for his philanthropy. He financially helped thousands of families who were victims of the natural disasters that rocked the Indian Ocean (2004) and the Fukushima region (2011) in Japan.
3 - Ichiro Suzuki
The "Laser Beam" was probably the best Japanese baseball player of the 20th century. With extreme accuracy in pitching and hitting grounders, Ichiro will apparently be one of the next inductees into the MLB Hall of Fame, along with CC Sabathia, on the 2025 ballot.
He has an impressive 3089 career hits (H), as well as 10 All-Star selections, 10 Gold Glove awards and 3 Silver Slugger honors.
He was a legend with the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees. He retired in 2019 at the age of 45.
2 - Sadaharu Oh
Also known as the "home run king", Sadaharu Oh (王貞治 - Or Sadaharu), played for almost 30 years for the NPB's top team, the Yomiuri Giants, where he broke countless records and won important awards. As an athlete, Oh has the unparalleled record of 868 home runs, more than Barry Bonds, the current MLB HR record holder (762).
1 - Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani (大谷翔平 - Ootani Shouhei) is arguably the best player in the world today. He is currently playing his first season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, after receiving the biggest contract in American sports history (around 700 million dollars). In 2023 he suffered a serious injury that has prevented him from pitching in the league. Even so, batting only, Ohtani remains the big name in contemporary baseball. As of the date of this article, the Japanese player has hit 30 home runs this season.
Elected MVP twice and unanimously, Ohtani is also the only player in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB) to have had 40 home runs and 10 wins to his credit. One factor to consider is that, being only 30 years old, there are still plenty of great seasons ahead for this Japanese baseball legend.
Honorable Mentions
- Takehiko Bessho
- Kazuo Matsui
- Morimichi Takagi
- Kazuyoshi Tatsunami
- Koji Yamamoto
- Minoru Murayama
- Kenta Maeda
- Hideki Irabu
- Masahiro Tanaka
- Yu Darvish
- Kazuhiro Yamauchi
- Kazuhiro Kiyohara
- Hiromitsu Kadota
- Yutaka Fukumoto
- Masaichi Kaneda
- Hisashi Iwakuma
- Daisuke Matsuzaka
- Hiroki Kuroda
- Kazuhiro Sasaki
- Masataka Yoshida
- Hayato Sakamoto
- Tetsuto Yamada
- Yusei Kikuchi
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto
- Shota Imanaga
- Masao Kida
- Yoshinori Hirose
- Shintaro Fujinami
- Hiroki Kokubo
- Akinobu Okada
- Shigeru Mizuhara
- Seiya Suzuki
- Tadahito Iguchi
- Eiji Sawamura
- Tetsuharu Kawakami
- Hiromitsu Ochiai
- Akinori Iwamura
- Takuro Ishii
- Tomoaki Kanemoto
- Sachio Kinugasa
- Katsuo Osugi
- Nori Aoki
- Koichi Tabuchi
- Kazuhiro Wada
- Makoto Matsubara
- Masahiro Doi
- Yuki Yanagita
- Suguru Egawa
- Tatsunori Hara