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Two players were inducted into the East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame with the 1983 class. On his third ballot, pitcher Tokutomi Ohashi earned the nod with 78.8%. Joining him was first baseman/designated hitter Min-Su Namkoong, who crossed the 66% requirement on his second attempt with 70.0%. Two others were above 50% with 2B Su-Yeon Park at 56.5% in his seventh ballot and C Jung-Soo Chen at 53.0% for his fourth.



Three players were dropped after ten ballots with the most notable being 2B Jung-Min Yi. He had a 20-year career with Hamhung, helping their dynasty with 2515 hits, 1577 runs, 404 doubles, 327 triples, 320 home runs, 1232 RBI, a .268/.341/.484 slash and 88.4 WAR. He only won Silver Slugger and Gold Glove once each though, but Yi got as high as 60.9% on his third ballot. The lack of accolades ultimately kept him out.

Another 2B dropped was San Chai, who had an 18-year career with four teams. He won six Silver Sluggers and one MVP, posting 2223 hits, 1220 runs, 356 doubles, 432 home runs, 1235 RBI, a .269/.330/.492 slash and 72.1 WAR. Chai was hurt by never being on a playoff team. He debuted at 43.3%, but ended at a paltry 9.5%. Also dropped was 1B Toyo Ishigura, who played 16 years with three teams and posted 2251 hits, 1202 runs, 421 doubles, 508 home runs, 1313 RBI, a .278/.327/.529 slash, and 70.9 WAR. He won two Silver Slugger and came close to an MVP in 1957, but also lacked the playoff accolades. Ishigura debuted at 48.4% and ended at 7.8%.



Tokutomi “Banshee” Ohashi – Starting Pitcher – Chiba Comets – 78.8% Third Ballot

Tokutomi Ohashi was a 6’0’’, 185 pound right-handed pitcher from Kawaguchi, a city of around 600,000 people in Japan’s Saitama Prefecture. Ohashi was a hard thrower with 98-100 mph peak velocity and solid stuff mixed with average to above average movement and control. He had four pitches; fastball, curveball, forkball, and changeup. Ohashi had solid durability much of his career, but was sometimes criticized for a perceived poor work ethic. He was also a decent hitter for a pitcher with a career .242 average, winning a Silver Slugger in 1961.

Ohashi attended Hosei University to play in the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League. His two strong college seasons stood out to Chiba, who picked Ohashi first overall in the 1959 East Asia Baseball Draft. He made nine weak relief appearances in 1960, then became a full-time starter from 1961 onward. Ohashi was a big part of the 1960s turnaround for the Comets, who had won only 63 games in the year he was draft. Ohashi had a 2.70 ERA in his rookie season over 256.2 innings, earning the 1961 Rookie of the Year.

Chiba would make four straight playoff appearances from 1961-64 and win the Japan League title in 61, 62, and 63. Ohashi’s postseason results were mixed with an unremarkable 4.23 ERA over 78.2 innings. He had a solid 1963 run with a 2.67 ERA over 30.1 innings. The Comets were unable to claim the EAB Championship, but it was the first sustained success for a historically inept franchise. They’d have some good seasons later in the 1960s, but couldn’t get back into the playoffs. They ultimately fell back into mediocrity by the start of the 1970s.

Ohashi remained steady throughout it all. He led the JL in strikeouts in 1967 and 1968 and posted seven seasons with 5+ WAR, although he otherwise wasn’t a league leader often. Ohashi never won Pitcher of the Year, but did take third in 1962, second in 1963, and third in 1965. He also pitched for Japan in the World Baseball Championship from 1963-73, primarily as a reliever. In 68.1 innings, he had a 3.56 ERA with 94 strikeouts.

Ohashi started to see fewer innings and less success entering the 1970s and his 30s. He earned his 200^th career win with Chiba in 1974, but was washed by this point with the Comets buying out the rest of his contract after the season. Still, the franchise would honor him by retiring his #2 uniform. Ohashi at age 36 signed in 1975 with Yokohama, but struggled in his 31.1 innings with the Yellow Jackets. He suffered a partially torn labrum in June that ended his season. Yokohama let him go and no one signed Ohashi in 1976, making him retire at age 38.

Ohashi’s final stats: 209-175 record, 3.48 ERA, 3505 innings, 3512 strikeouts to 755 walks, 270/458 quality starts, FIP- of 88, and 66.1 WAR. A nice run, but the advanced stats are underwhelming compared to other Hall of Famers. His ERA was the second worst of the inducted pitchers and his 103 ERA+ suggests someone only slightly above average. Still, his accumulations and long run with one franchise resonated with many voters. Ohashi just missed the 66% cut on his first two ballots at 63.4% and 64.6%. On the third ballot with a weaker field, Ohashi got the bump up to 78.8% and secured his spot in the Hall of Fame.



Min-Su Namkoong – First Base/Designated Hitter – Gwangju Grays – 70.0% Second Ballot

Min-Su Namkoong was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Gimhae, a city or around 550,000 in southeastern South Korea. He was a very steady and reliable hitter that was very durable and consistent. Namkoong was an above average contact hitter with good power, hitting 30+ home runs in 13 different seasons. He also averaged around 25 doubles per year but rarely tripled with poor baserunning speed. Namkoong was above average at drawing walks, but a bit below average at avoiding strikeouts. He exclusively played defensively at first base and was lousy with the glove. He made about 2/3s of his starts in the field and the rest as a designated hitter. Namkoong was well liked in the clubhouse as a solid leader.

Namkoong was spotted as a teenager amateur by Gwangju and signed a developmental deal in 1952. He made his debut at age 20 in 1956, although he’d see limited action in his first two seasons. Namkoong became the full-time starter in 1958 and remain a regular starter for almost 20 years. Despite this, he almost never was a league leader and didn’t get much attention with so many great sluggers at 1B and DH. His only Silver Slugger came in 1962. Namkoong also didn’t get noticed as much due to playing on generally poor teams, never making the playoffs once in his career. His national team play was limited too, although he did make five World Baseball Championship appearance for South Korea with 40 games, 34 hits, 21 runs, 10 home runs, and 22 RBI.

1964 saw Namkoong’s one major injury with a torn PCL putting him out 9-10 months. He bounced back with his best season in 1965 with his only MVP finalist bid, taking third in the voting. Namkoong exploded with 56 home runs, 133 RBI, 207 hits, 102 runs, a .329 average, 1.003 OPS, and 7.5 WAR; all career highs. Although he had steady power, this was his only year topping 40 home runs in a season. It was a contract year for Namkoong, who entered free agency at age 30. He left Gwangju and signed a seven-year, $1,106,000 contract with Changwon.

Namkoong ended up playing four years of the Crabs deal and never had a season on par with his 20s. He had 5+ WAR seasons five times in his first Grays run, but only got above 4+ once for the rest of his career. His fourth year with Changwon in 1969 was his best, earning his 400^th home run and 2000^th hit. Namkoong decided to opt out of his deal though and went back to Gwangju on a five-year, $1,080,000 deal.

Despite his tenure with the Grays, Namkoong wouldn’t have his jersey number retired. In total between the two runs, he had 2180 hits, 1016 runs, 335 doubles, 418 home runs, 1247 RBI, a .292/.346/.514 slash and 50.2 WAR. After the 1974 season, Namkoong became a free agent again and played one more year with Changwon. Between the two Crabs runs, he had 753 hits, 384 runs, 166 home runs, 411 RBI, a .265/.320/.486 slash and 14.0 WAR. Namkoong’s last year was 1976 at age 40, starting the season with Goyang and getting traded at the deadline to Sapporo. He became the 15^th EAB player to 600 career home runs and the seventh to 3000 hits while with the Green Sox. Namkoong was unsigned in 1977 and retired at age 41.

Namkoong’s final stats: 3059 hits, 1453 runs, 455 doubles, 604 home runs, 1734 RBI, a .284/.337/.503 slash, 133 wRC+ and 65.2 WAR. Despite never being dominant, his steady production put him in solid spots on many leaderboards. At induction, Namkoong was eighth in hits, ninth in RBI, and 18^th in home runs. Still, he was overlooked by many for his lack of accolades. Namkoong missed the cut on his debut ballot at 62.5%, but crossed the line on his second attempt at 70.0% and grabbed his seat among the greats.