The baseball community has been thrown into mourning following the demise of Korean-Japanese baseball legend Isao Harimoto at the age of 86.
Harimoto survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima passed on in Tokyo.
Harimoto, nicknamed the “Hit Machine”, holds the record for the most hits in the history of Japanese baseball, which stands at 3,085, having played for 23 years in professional baseball, per BBC Sport.
Also, he scored 504 home runs and stole 319 bases, thus becoming the only player in the NPB history to score at least 500 home runs and 300 steals.
Isao Harimoto, Japanese baseball’s all-time hit king, has died. He was 86. https://t.co/mvV8hkvG59 pic.twitter.com/hjJwO9tfFi
— The Japan Times (@japantimes) September 10, 2026
This feat is only achieved by three Major League Baseball players in the history of baseball: Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, and Alex Rodriguez.
The eighteen-time All-Star baseball player made it possible for the Toei Flyers to win their first Japan Series 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 – one of Japanese baseball’s two halls of fame – said in a statement.
Despite encountering many challenges, Harimoto, whose real name is Jang Hun, became a great baseball player.
Born in Hiroshima in 1940, to parents from Korea, who immigrated to Japan when it was ruling Korea, Harimoto spent all his life in Japan and changed his name to a Japanese name, but it took him a while to gain citizenship in Japan.
As a child, he encountered an incident in which he suffered burns in his right hand.
Unable to bend the thumb and index finger and also having the other three middle fingers in a bent position, Harimoto was obliged to throw and hit with his left hand.
In his curled up right hand, he used a specially made glove to be able to catch the ball.
