Sadaharu Oh
Professional debut NPB: April 11, 1959 for the Yomiuri Giants Last professional appearance October 12, 1980 for the Yomiuri Giants NPB statistics Batting average .301 Hits 2,786 Home runs 868 Runs batted in 2,170 Teams As Player Yomiuri Giants (1959–1980) As Manager Yomiuri Giants (1981–1988) Fukuoka Daiei Hawks • Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (1995–2008) Japan (2006) Career highlights and awards 11× Japan Series Champion (as a player) 1961, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 9× Central League MVP (1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977) Yomiuri Giants #1 retired Member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame Inducted 1994 Sadaharu Oh (Japanese: 王貞治, Ō Sadaharu; born May 20, 1940), also known as Wang Chen-chih (Chinese: t 王貞治, s 王贞治, p Wáng Zhēnzhì), is a retired Japanese–Chinese baseball player and manager who holds the world lifetime home run record, having hit 868 home runs during his professional career. Oh batted and threw left-handed and primarily played first base. Oh, who was born in Sumida, Tokyo the son of a Chinese father and a Japanese mother, had originally signed with the powerhouse Yomiuri Giants in 1959 as a pitcher, but was soon converted to first base. Under the tutelage of coach Hiroshi Arakawa, Oh developed his distinctive "flamingo" leg kick. His batting average jumped from .161 in his rookie season to .270 in 1960, and his home runs more than doubled. His performance dipped slightly in both statistical categories in 1961, but Oh truly blossomed in 1962. He was a five-time batting champion and fifteen-time home-run champion, and won the Central League most valuable player award nine times. In 1977, Sadaharu Oh became the first recipient of the People's Honor award. Oh played his entire 22-year professional career with the Yomiuri Giants and was their manager from 1984 to 1988. Oh holds the world career home run record with 868 home runs, and held Japan's single-season home run record with 55 until Wladimir Balentien broke the record in 2013. He also managed the Fukuoka Daiei/Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks from 1995 to 2008 and he was the manager of the Japanese national team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. The Japanese team defeated the Cuban national team for the championship. He is currently the chairman of the Hawks. Although Sadaharu Oh was born in Japan, he was born with the Republic of China citizenship, which he still holds today, as his father left China when the ROC still governs the mainland and chose to remain a Chinese citizen. Oh is the father of three daughters. His second daughter, Rie Oh (born in 1970), is a sportscaster and presenter on the J-Wave radio network.