Isao Harimoto, one of the greatest hitters in Japanese baseball history and Nippon Professional Baseball’s all-time leader with 3,085 career hits, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 86.
Born in Hiroshima in 1940 to Korean parents, Harimoto overcame extreme adversity before ever stepping foot onto a baseball field. As a young child, he suffered severe burns to his right hand in an accident, leaving several fingers permanently impaired. He later learned to throw and hit left-handed and eventually used a modified glove to accommodate the injury.
At the age of five, Harimoto survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. His older sister was killed in the attack. At 18, Harimoto joined the Toei Flyers (now known as the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters) and debuted professionally in 1959.
He immediately became a regular and won Pacific League Rookie of the Year honors. Three years later, Harimoto hit .333 with 31 home runs and helped Toei win the 1962 Japan Series, earning him the Pacific League MVP award.
Nicknamed the “Hit Machine,” Harimoto became famous for his ability to drive the ball to all fields. He won seven batting titles, including four consecutive crowns from 1967 through 1970, and made 16 Best Nine teams. His peak offensive campaign came in 1970, when he batted .383 with 34 home runs, a .467 on-base percentage, and 1.112 OPS.
After spending most of his career with the Flyers organization, Harimoto joined the Yomiuri Giants in 1976 and later finished his career with the Lotte Orions. In 1980, he became the first — and still the only player — in NPB history to reach 3,000 hits.
By the time he retired in 1981, Harimoto had accumulated 3,085 hits, 504 home runs, 1,676 RBI, and 319 stolen bases while batting .319 with a .933 OPS. He remains the only player in NPB history with at least 500 home runs and 300 stolen bases.
Harimoto was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. He also helped develop professional baseball in South Korea, supporting the Korean baseball establishment around the launch of the KBO in 1982.
Following his retirement, Harimoto became one of Japan’s most recognizable sports commentators. He was especially known for his longtime appearances on TBS’s Sunday Morning, where his blunt, old-school hot takes made him popular yet controversial.
He was also a vocal skeptic of Shohei Ohtani’s decision to become a two-way player, criticizing his hitting early in his career and repeatedly arguing that he should focus exclusively on pitching.
Harimoto will be remembered as one of the greatest players in Japanese baseball history, with his 3,085 career hits still standing as the NPB record more than four decades after his retirement. With many of Japan’s top hitters now spending significant portions of their careers in Major League Baseball, the record may never be broken.