Japanese baseball legend Isao Harimoto has died in Tokyo at the age of 86, the Golden Players Club confirmed on Wednesday.
Harimoto was widely known as the ‘Hit Machine’, finished his 23-season career with a Japanese-record 3,085 hits. He remains the only player in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) history to reach 3,000 hits.
The 18-time All-Star also hit 504 home runs and stole 319 bases, making him the only player in NPB history to achieve at least 500 homers and 300 stolen bases.
Only three Major League Baseball players Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez have matched that feat.
Harimoto helped the Toei Flyers win their first Japan Series title in 1962 and was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.
“All members of the Meikyukai express our deep respect and gratitude for Mr Isao Harimoto’s many years of great achievements, and we sincerely pray for [following] his passing,” the Golden Players Club said in a statement.
Born Jang Hun to Korean parents in Hiroshima in 1940, Harimoto suffered severe burns to his right hand in an accident as a child.
The injuries left several fingers permanently curled and forced him to throw and bat left-handed.
At the age of five, he survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6th August 1945. He later recalled how his mother shielded him and his sister from the blast, although another sister was killed.
Harimoto joined the Toei Flyers in 1959, later playing for the Yomiuri Giants and Lotte Orions. He won seven batting titles and retired in 1981 after 2,752 games.
He later helped establish South Korea’s KBO league before becoming a prominent baseball commentator and pundit.
