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Two players were inducted in the East Asia Baseball 1951 Hall of Fame Class. Slugger Danzu Min was a first ballot selection at 96.3%, while Pitcher Shinji Mizuguchi on his second try got in at 73.2%. SS Jun-Yeong Dang on his debut barely missed the 66% cut with 65.1%. Three others were above 50%, all starting pitchers in Toshihiro Tsukahara, Kazuo Udagawa, and Ping’an Xie.



Two players were cut after 10 tries on the EAB ballot. Pitcher Tadakatsu Kyuki was the 1928 Japan League Pitcher of the Year with Chiba and between them and Yokohama in 13 years had a 162-124 record, 2.52 ERA, 2596 strikeouts, and 59.5 WAR. He fell off too early though to accumulate the requisite numbers, peaking on his second ballot at 21.2%. Meanwhile, closer Kazuto Ichihara peaked at 35.9% on his second attempt. The 1925 Reliever of the Year had 13 seasons primarily with Sapporo and Seongnam, posting 294 saves, a 2.14 ERA, 1399 strikeouts, and 31.7 WAR. A solid closer, but not quite HOF worthy.



Danzu Min – Third Baseman – Nagoya Nightowls -96.3% First Ballot

Danzu Min was a 6’2’’, 205 pound switch-hitting third baseman from Shenyang, a metropolis in northeast China. He was very much a “three true outcomes” player who had tremendous home run power and the ability to draw walks, but also was someone who struck out a ton. He was a poor contact hitter, but made up for that with raw power and run scoring ability as a respectable baserunner. Min was a career third baseman who was an average to above average defender.

Min’s family moved to Japan and he attended Tsuda Gauken High School in Kuwana. He was a rare player drafted straight out of high school in EAB, but picked late, as Nagoya selected Min 128^th overall in the fifth round of the 1922 EAB Draft. He had nine at-bats over 1923-1926 as they trained him up. He struggled in 31 games in 1927 and spent his entire 1928 on the reserve roster. He played his first full-time season at age 24 in 1929 and was a full-time starter the next year.

Nagowa became a contender as Min came to prominence with four straight 100+ win seasons from 1931-34, winning the EAB title in 1931 and 1934. In 1931, Min won the Japan League MVP with the league lead in home runs (54) and RBI (116). He had an incredible postseason with eight home runs, 12 runs, and 13 RBI over 12 games as the Nightowls took home a ring. He won his second MVP in 1932 and set the single-season home run record of 64, while adding 120 RBI, a .985 OPS, and 10.1 WAR.

That would be his peak season, but he’d remain a solid contributor for Nagoya into the mid 1940s. The Nightowls won the Japan League title again in 1937 and the EAB championship in 1940. At retirement, Min was the all-time EAB playoff home run and RBI leader with 28 dingers and 49 RBI. He won four Silver Sluggers in total, led in homers three times, walks thrice, and runs twice. Notably, he also led in strikeouts nine times and at retirement had whiffed more than any other EAB player at 3205. Min’s unusual #97 uniform would get retired by Nagoya, who he finally left after the 1945 season at age 40. In 1944, he became the first EAB hitter to 600 career home runs and was the career leader at retirement. He tried one year post-war in MLB with the New York Yankees in 1946. He hit 27 home runs at age 41, but led the league in strikeouts and retired at season’s end.

The final EAB stats for Danzu Min: 1879 hits, 1355 runs, 237 doubles, 658 home runs, 1431 RBI, 986 walks, 3205 strikeouts, 494 stolen bases, a .214/.300./490 slash and 93.9 WAR. His power, especially in the playoffs, was legendary. He was a key crusher for Nagoya despite being the all-time whiff king. All of Danzu’s dingers meant he was a no-doubt first ballot selection at 96.3%.



Shinji Mizuguchi – Starting Pitcher – Sapporo Swordfish – 73.2% Second Ballot

Shinji Mizuguchi was a 5’10’’, 195 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Tokyo, Japan. He was a hard thrower with 98-100 mph velocity and solid control with average movement. Mizuguchi mixed a fastball, slider, splitter, and changeup. Mizuguchi was a college standout at the University of Tokyo and was picked sixth overall by Sapporo in the 1929 EAB Draft.

After spending his rookie year as a reliever, Mizuguchi became a fulltime starter for the Swordfish for the next 12 seasons. Although he never was a Pitcher of the Year finalist, Mizuguchi was a reliable innings eater. He led the Japan League six times in complete games and lead in innings three times. He consistently put up around 5-6 WAR, 250 or so strikeouts and around an upper two/low three ERA. Sapporo found success in the early years for Mizuguchi, winning the EAB title in 1932 and Japan League title in 1933. He had a strong 1932 postseason with a 1.89 ERA over 33.1 innings with 29 strikeouts.

Mizuguchi kept chugging along into his 30s and stayed loyal to the Swordfish, despite the team struggling in the later 1930s. They started an upswing into the 1940s and would get back top form in 1944 and 45, but Mizuguchi would miss that. In September 1942, he suffered a catastrophic ruptured ulnar collateral ligament. He made one regular season and one playoff start the next year and was not re-signed by Sapporo, although they would retire his #23 uniform. In 1944, he had 11.1 relief innings for Chiba and would retire that offseason at age 37.

The final line for Mizuguchi: 194-157, 2.78 ERA, 3305.2 innings, 3197 strikeouts, 601 walks, 280 quality starts, 163 complete games and 65.8 WAR. Quiet and reliable, but not at all flashy. Without the injury, he surely would’ve crossed 200 wins and maybe 250 as he had remained steady up until that fateful day. Still, he was a key player for some solid 1930s Sapporo teams and that earned the attention of the Hall of Fame voters, who put Mizuguchi in on his second try at the ballot with 73.2%.