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The 1955 East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame class had two players inducted, both pitchers. Former Kobe ace Drew St. Louis was a near unanimous first ballot pick at 98.8%. Meanwhile, closer Osamu Kurokawa made it on his fourth ballot at 71.7%. Another starter, Toshihiro Tsukahara, had a nice showing at 60.8% on his fifth ballot, but was short. Two others, SS Soo-Hyun Choo and SP Kazuo Udagawa, were just above 50%. No players were dropped on their 10^th ballot, although SP Eun-Chan Shin made it nine ballots before falling below 5% and getting dropped. Shin had a 232-189 record, 3.36 ERA, 3195 strikeouts, and 67.4 WAR; decent accumulations but considered more of a “hall of very good” type.



Drew St. Louis – Starting Pitcher – Kobe Blaze – 98.8% First Ballot

Drew St. Louis was a 5’10’’, 180 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Tabaquite, a small rural town in central Trinidad. At his peak, St. Louis had incredible stuff with 99-101 mph velocity on a stellar fastball. He also had a curveball and changeup he mixed in with good control and movement. But it was that one-of-a-kind fastball which made St. Louis an elite strikeout pitcher.

St. Louis had an unusual path to East Asia Baseball as someone growing up in rural Trinidad. He happened to get spotted as a teenager for his incredible arm strength and was signed by Hiroshima in 1930. He spent five seasons in their organization as a developmental player, but never played a game for the Hammerheads. In summer 1934, he and two other prospects were traded to Kobe for pitcher Seiju Suzuki. St. Louis spent the rest of his professional career with the Blaze and soon became elite.

He debuted at age 21 in 1935 as a reliever, then was used as a starter more thereafter. In his second season, he placed second in the Japan League Pitcher of the Year voting. He won the award for the first time in 1937, then won it again in 1939, 40, 41, and 44. St. Louis was third in 1942 and 43 for PotY and also managed to take second in MVP voting in 1944 and third in 1939. He led Japan in strikeouts six times, including five straight years from 1936-41. He led in ERA thrice, WHIP thrice, and WAR six times; including a remarkable 10.8 WAR in 1941. He had a career high 366 strikeouts and career best 1.43 ERA in 1939.

St. Louis also had a perfect game in 1937 against Tokyo with 12 strikeouts. He had another no-hitter against Nagoya in 1942 with 12 strikeouts and two walks. In 1944 against Chiba, he struck out 21 in a game, a mark that had only been topped by Michiro Yabuta with 22 in 1924. St. Louis earned a ring in his rookie year as Kobe was the 1935 EAB champ, although he didn’t play in the postseason. The team made the playoffs only twice more in his tenure, winning the 1942 Japan League title. The pressure demanded on his arm for his fastball caught up with him as he aged with elbow tendinitis, a torn triceps, and a strained shoulder all hitting in his final seasons. By age 32, he was no longer an ace and after struggling in his final seasons, St. Louis retired at age 35. His #27 uniform was immediately retired.

The final statistics; 188-114, 63 saves, 2.01 ERA, 2856.1 innings, 3634 strikeouts, 265/328 quality starts, 119 complete games, 65 FIP-, and 85.5 WAR. His career was a short burst, but in his prime, St. Louis was as dominant as any pitcher in Japan League history. He was the first five time Pitcher of the Year winner in Japan and the second in EAB, placing St. Louis in very elite company. His fastball struck fear into even the most seasoned hitters, earning a first ballot Hall of Fame nod at 98.8%.



Osamu Kurokawa – Closer – Nagoya Nightowls – 71.7% Fourth Ballot

Osamu Kurokawa was a 5’10’’, 190 pound right-handed reliever from Muika, a small town in a mountainous and snowy part of Niigata Prefecture in Japan. Kurokawa had 96-98 mph velocity and good movement in a two pitch arsenal of a cutter and slider. With these, he was extremely adept at drawing ground balls. He was a very hard working player, which helped him get noticed as a rare EAB draft pick out of high school He was a second round selection, 60^th overall, in the 1928 EAB draft by Nagoya.

Kurokawa made his debut at age 21 in1931 and spent 12 seasons with the Nightowls. His role varies in the earlier years before becoming the full time closer by 1936. Kurokawa joined right at the start of Nagoya’s 1930s dynasty, winning the EAB title in 1931 and 1934. They won the Japan League again in 1937 and the EAB crown in 1940. Kurokawa was spotty in the postseason, posting a 3.83 ERA with eight saves over 40 innings, 42 strikeouts, and 1.1 WAR.

He led Japan in saves twice, posting 50 in 1940 and 48 in 1941. He was rarely considered dominant and only once did he finish in the top three in Reliever of the Year voting, taking third in 1933. Still, Kurokawa with Nagoya posted 337 saves, a 2.56 ERA, 862 strikeouts over 766.2 innings, and 18.4 WAR. At age 33, he was traded for to Saitama for the 1943 season and spent four seasons with the Sting. He suffered a partially torn labrum in 1943, but still came back and held down the closer role. He was the third to 400 career saves and retired with the career lead of 447, although Oki Tanaka had passed him only a few seasons later. Kurokawa retired at age 36.

The final stats: 447 saves, 2.62 ERA, 926 games, 511 shutdowns, 1043.0 innings, 1099 strikeouts, and 21.0 WAR. The more sabermetric minded stats find Kurokawa unimpressive; his WAR total is the second worst of any EAB Hall of Famer. His lack of dominance or award-winning seasons meant that even as someone at the top of the saves leaderboard, he had to wait a few years. He barely missed the cut in his second and third ballots, but finally crossed the line on his fourth try at 71.7%.