Japanese Baseball Great Isao Harimoto Dies at 86

Korean-Japanese baseball great Isao Harimoto, the career hits leader in Japan's top professional league, has died in Tokyo at the age of 86. BBC Sport reported his death on Thursday, describing a 23-season career in which the player known as the Hit Machine amassed 3,085 hits and became the only man in Nippon Professional Baseball history to reach 3,000.

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Harimoto combined elite hitting with unusual power and speed. He finished with 504 home runs and 319 stolen bases, making him the only NPB player to record at least 500 homers and 300 steals. BBC Sport noted that Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez are the only Major League Baseball players to have reached both of those thresholds.

His professional career began with the Toei Flyers in 1959. Harimoto spent 16 years with the club and helped the Flyers win their first Japan Series in 1962, the same year he was named the Pacific League's most valuable player. He later played for the Yomiuri Giants and Lotte Orions, winning seven batting titles across his career. Four of those titles came consecutively from 1967 through 1970.

Harimoto retired in 1981 after appearing in 2,752 games. His achievements were recognized with induction into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. The Golden Players Club, also known as Meikyukai, issued a statement expressing respect and gratitude for his long record of achievement and offering condolences following his death.

Born Jang Hun in Hiroshima in 1940 to Korean parents who had moved to Japan during Japanese rule of Korea, Harimoto faced major obstacles long before reaching professional baseball. A childhood accident badly burned his right hand, leaving limited movement in two fingers and the other three fixed in a curled position. He adapted by learning to throw and hit left-handed and used a specially made glove on his injured hand.

Harimoto also survived the United States' atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. He later recalled that his mother shielded him and one of his sisters after the explosion, while another sister did not survive. After leaving the field, Harimoto helped launch South Korea's KBO league in 1982 and went on to work in baseball commentary and punditry, extending his influence on the sport beyond his playing career.