Japanese baseball’s all-time hit king Isao Harimoto dies at 86

Isao Harimoto, Japanese baseball’s all-time hit king, has died at age 86. He died at a Tokyo hospital around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, per a report by television station TBS. Harimoto is the only player in NPB history to reach 3,000 hits and finished his career with 3,085 — 184 more than Katsuya Nomura, who is second on the all-time list.

Harimoto, a second-generation Korean-Japanese, was born in Hiroshima in 1940 and survived the atomic bombing of the city during World War II in 1945. In a first-person account in the Chugoku Shimbun in 2011, Harimoto recounted how, after the flash and roar of the bomb exploding, his mother jumped in front of him and his sister to shield them with her body. Despite also suffering serious burn injuries on his right hand as a child that preceded the bombing, the left-handed Harimoto went on to become one of the greatest hitters Japan has ever seen.

Known as the “Hit Machine,” Harimoto played for 23 seasons, having made his debut in 1959 with the Toei Flyers and remaining with the franchise as it became the Nittaku Home Flyers in 1973 and the Nippon Ham Fighters in 1974. He then played for the Yomiuri Giants (1976 to 1979) and Lotte Orions (1980 to 1981). Harimoto’s .319 career average is the third-highest in NPB history, while he sits fourth with 1,676 RBIs and is tied for seventh with 504 home runs.

He played in 2,752 games. Harimoto recorded his milestone 3,000th hit with a two-run home run against the Hankyu Braves on May 28, 1980. The only Japanese player with more career hits than Harimoto is Ichiro Suzuki, who finished with a combined 4,367 between his time in NPB — where he amassed 1,278 — and MLB — where he finished with 3,089.

Harimoto also stole 319 bases, making him the only player in NPB history with at least 500 home runs and 300 stolen bases. That is a rare feat even in MLB, where only Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez have done it. Harimoto won seven batting titles — tied with Ichiro for the most in NPB — including four straight from 1967 to 1970.

He was the Pacific League Rookie of the Year in 1959 and the PL MVP in 1962. He was named to 16 season-ending Best Nine teams during his career. Harimoto was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.