ISAO HARIMOTO, ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVOR, DIES AT 86
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By:Aminat Tajudeen
Japanese baseball legend Isao Harimoto, who survived the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima as a child, has died in Tokyo at the age of 86, BBC Sport reported on Thursday.
Harimoto, popularly known as the “Hit Machine,” holds the record for the most hits in Japanese professional baseball history, recording 3,085 hits over a 23-season career.
He remains the only player in Nippon Professional Baseball history to reach the 3,000-hit milestone.
Harimoto also recorded 504 home runs and 319 stolen bases, making him the only NPB player to achieve at least 500 home runs and 300 stolen bases. In Major League Baseball, only Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez have achieved the same feat.
An 18-time All-Star, Harimoto helped the Toei Flyers win their first Japan Series championship in 1962 and was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.
Born Jang Hun in Hiroshima in 1940 to Korean parents, Harimoto grew up in Japan at a time when Koreans faced discrimination and legal restrictions. He later adopted the Japanese name Isao Harimoto and obtained Japanese citizenship later in life.
His rise to baseball stardom was made more remarkable by a childhood accident that severely burned his right hand. The injury limited movement in his thumb and forefinger and left his other fingers curled. As a result, he learned to bat and throw left-handed and used a specially designed glove on his right hand.
Harimoto also survived one of the most devastating events of the 20th century.
On August 6, 1945, when he was five years old, he was in Hiroshima when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city. Harimoto later recalled that his mother shielded him and his sister with her body during the blast, while another sister was killed.
Despite the trauma, Harimoto went on to establish one of the most distinguished careers in Japanese baseball.
He joined the Toei Flyers in 1959 and spent 16 seasons with the club before later playing for the Yomiuri Giants and Lotte Orions. He won seven batting titles, including four consecutive titles from 1967 to 1970, a feat later matched by Ichiro Suzuki.
Harimoto retired in 1981 after playing 2,752 games.
Following his retirement, he helped launch South Korea’s professional KBO baseball league in 1982 before becoming a respected baseball commentator and pundit.
The Golden Players Club, known as Meikyukai, paid tribute to Harimoto after his death, expressing its respect and gratitude for his contributions to baseball.
Harimoto leaves behind a legacy that extends beyond his remarkable statistics. He overcame disability, discrimination and the trauma of surviving the Hiroshima atomic bombing to become one of Japan’s most celebrated baseball players.
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