*This content was translated by AI.
Jang Hoon (Japanese name: Harimoto Isao), the only player in NPB history to surpass 3,000 hits and known as the "hit machine," has passed away. He was 86 years old.
Local media outlets including Japan's TBS reported on the 10th that "Jang Hoon passed away at a hospital in Tokyo on the previous day, the 9th."
Born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1940 as a second-generation Zainichi Korean, Jang Hoon experienced the atomic bombing during his childhood. Despite difficult circumstances, he nurtured his dream of becoming a baseball player and joined the Toei Flyers (now Nippon-Ham Fighters) in the NPB in 1959. He later played for the Yomiuri Giants and Lotte Orions (now Chiba Lotte Marines), among others, playing for 23 seasons until 1981.
The numbers he left behind are overwhelming. He appeared in 2,752 career games, recording a batting average of .319, 3,085 hits, 504 home runs, and 1,676 RBIs. His 3,085 hits remain the all-time NPB record and are the only 3,000-hit mark in Japanese professional baseball history. He is also the only player to surpass both 500 home runs and 300 stolen bases simultaneously. He achieved a .300 batting average 16 times and led the league in batting seven times, tying the all-time record. In 1962, he was named Pacific League MVP and helped Toei secure its first Japan Series championship.
He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. After retiring, he demonstrated a presence as a commentator no less than during his playing days. He frequently offered blunt criticism regarding Shohei Ohtani's (32, Los Angeles Dodgers) two-way play and move to Major League Baseball, at one point earning the label "Ohtani sniper." However, when Ohtani was injured, he expressed concern, saying, "I worry because he is a player I like," showing affection for his junior despite his sharp tongue.
Jang Hoon was a legend of Japanese baseball and maintained a long connection with Korean baseball as well. Although he ultimately naturalized in Japan during his later years, he repeatedly refused to change his nationality during his playing career and remained recognized as Korean for a long time, earning deep respect.
When Jang Myeong-bu, who achieved the immortal feat of 30 wins in a single season upon appearing in the KBO League in 1983, donned the Sammi Superstars uniform, it was largely due to Jang Hoon's efforts. From the early days of Korean professional baseball, he played a significant role between the baseball communities of both nations.
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*This content was translated by AI.
