[FuzzyRussianHat]

Two no-doubt Hall of Fame selections were inducted for the 1965 East Asia Baseball class as RF Takashi Ishihara had 98.9% and 1B Seong-Jun Han got 95.3%. Only two others were at or above 50% with SP Min-Chin Park at a respectable 60.2% on his third attempt and CF Ha-Min Park right at 50% even on his sixth try.



Two players were dropped from the ballot after ten unsuccessful bids. LF Bum-Young Ahn peaked at 55.0% on his debut and ended at 46.0%, roughly hovering around that range. He was a major playoff performer in Busan’s dynasty era. Over 21 years counting three MLB seasons, he had 2874 hits, 1495 runs, 543 home runs, 1565 RBI, and 64.3 WAR. In just EAB, he had 2532 hits, 1308 runs, 474 home runs, 1360 RBI, a .296/.344/.522 slash, and 64.1 WAR. Pretty good, but no MVPs or Silver Sluggers, plus atrocious defense, kept Ahn out despite being a big playoff piece for the Blue Jays dynasty.

Also dropped was two time Reliever of the Year Sang-Hun Yun, who started at 49.4% but was at 9.5% by the end. Also a part of Busan’s run, he had 216 saves, 2.35 ERA, 1465 strikeouts over 1147.1 innings, and 41 WAR. The strikeout and WAR numbers are better than a lot of other relievers that would get in, but the lack of save numbers hurt him with the voters.



Takashi Ishihara – Outfielder – Fukuoka Frogs – 98.9% First Ballot

Takashi Ishihara was a 5’10’’, 185 pound left-handed outfielder from Kashima, Japan; a town of about 30,000 people on the southwestern island of Kyushu. Ishihara was a prolific power hitter who would go onto lead the Japan League in home runs in seven different seasons and RBI in six seasons. He was an above average contact hitter with solid speed and great baserunning instincts. Despite his power, Ishihara rarely drew walks and struck out more than average. Ishihara made about 60% of his career starts in right field and was considered an above average defender there. He also made about 30% of starts in center field with the rest in left and was viewed as below average in those spots.

Ishihara attended Koku Gakuin University in Yokahama and was picked fifth overall in the 1942 East Asia Baseball Draft by Fukuoka. He spent his entire career with the Frogs and was an immediate success, posting 5.6 WAR as a rookie and winning Japan League Rookie of the Year. His second season saw his first of nine Silver Sluggers with additional awards in 1945, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 54, and 56. In 1945, he won his first of five MVPs, posting league bests in home runs (52), runs (113), RBI (120), and WAR (10.8). Ishihara won additional MVPs in 1947, 48, 52, and 54; and was second in MVP voting in 1949. He was the first five-time MVP in Japan League history and joined Korea’s Byung-Oh Tan as the only ones to date in EAB.

Ishihara four times was the Japan League WARlord with 10+ seasons. He had 8+ WAR in eight seasons, 50+ home runs in four seasons, 100+ runs in five seasons, 11 seasons of 100+ RBI. His 1948 season was arguably the greatest hitting season in EAB history. He put up 14.3 WAR, which was the single-season hitting record until 2028. Ishihara smacked 64 home runs, tying the then single-season record. He added 125 runs, 144 RBI, 192 hits, 1.093 OPS, and wRC+ of 260.

Despite his amazing production, Ishihara was an example of how baseball requires a full team effort to succeed. Fukuoka never made the playoffs in his 17 year tenure with the Frogs and only twice did they win 90+ games. Still, he remained loyal to the team and was renowned throughout all of Japan for his excellence. Ishihara played for the Japanese national team in the World Baseball Championship from 1949-58, posting 26 home runs in 293 plate appearances with 70 hits, 51 runs, 61 RBI, and 2.7 WAR. He did earn a world title ring as Japan earned the 1953 title.

Ishihara remained stellar at the plate through his age 37 season of 1957. He had been incredibly durable to that point with his only significant missed time coming because of a strained groin in 1951. In 1958, bone chips in his elbow caused him to miss about six weeks. That season, he became the ninth EAB batter to 2500 career hits and only the third to 1500 runs scored. Ishihara was the third to 1500 RBI the prior season and in 1956, the third to 600 career home runs.

His final season was 1959, which saw a noticeable drop in production. He was able to cross the milestone of 700 home runs, the second to do so. At retirement, his 703 was second only to Byung-Oh Tan’s 718. A strained groin muscle put him out two months, then Ishihara suffered a broken kneecap in late September. A setback meant the injury put him out a total of 17 months. He officially retired from the game in late 1961 at age 41.

The final stats for Ishihara, 2641 hits, 1556 runs, 436 doubles, 172 triples, 703 home runs, 1691 RBI, 672 stolen bases, a .277/.318/.580 OBP, 180 wRC+ and 133.8 WAR. He was second all-time at retirement in hitting WAR, just above Byung-Oh Tan (131.1) and only below Si-U Gim (138.8). He was the premiere slugger of his generation and still holds up among the all-time best ever in EAB with the lone blemish of being stuck on a lousy Fukuoka franchise. Still, he was beloved there (with his #5 uniform retired) and beloved throughout Japanese baseball full stop, earning a no-doubt induction at 98.9%.



Seong-Jun Han “Sugar Bear” – First Base/Designated Hitter - Pyongyang Pythons – 95.3% First Ballot

Seong-Jun Han was a 5’11’’, 200 pound left-handed hitter from the North Korean capital Pyongyang. Affectionately known as “Sugar Bear,” Han was a great contact hitter with an excellent eye for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He had stellar gap power and with his excellent speed was able to turn a lot of doubles into triples, hitting nearly the same amount of both in his career. Han wasn’t a prolific home run slugger, but gave you around 15-20 per season. Despite being very quick on the basepaths, Han didn’t translate that speed into the field. He was a career designed hitter with about 2/3 of his starts there and the rest at first base, where he was viewed as a poor defender. Helped by being a DH, Han was very durable, starting 132+ games in all but the first two seasons of a 22-year pro career.

Han went to Japan to play college baseball at Doshisha University in Kyoto. He returned home to Pyongyang as the Pythons picked him 12^th overall in the 1942 East Asia Baseball Draft. Han was mostly a pinch hitter in his rookie season and a part time starter in year two. He became a full-time starter in his third season and remained a full-time starter for the rest of his career.

Han won his first Silver Slugger in 1945 and won it again in 1946, 48, and 50. In 1946, Han won the Korea League MVP. He was the WARlord with a career high at 8.1, led with 113 runs, and set a single-season EAB record with 38 triples. That held as the triples mark until 1987. Han took second in MVP voting in 1948 and 1950, winning batting titles in both seasons. Pyongyang made the playoffs twice during his tenure with Han getting 14 hits in 12 games. He also played for the North Korean team in the World Baseball Championship from 1947-61, picking up 93 hits, 63 runs, and 3.2 WAR over 127 games and 95 starts.

In 1957, Han became the seventh EAB hitter to reach 2500 career hits. In 1958, he was the fourth to 1500 runs scored. In 1959, after 17 seasons with Pyongyang, Han was traded to Yokohama, where he finished out the year. His #1 uniform would ultimately be retired by the Pythons. Still putting up solid numbers the prior seasons, the now 39-year old Han decided to give Major League Baseball a shot, signing with Tampa.

Unfortunately, he struggled in 1960 with the Thunderbirds. Han was traded to San Diego for the 1961 season and did better, but was still middling at best. Han left for the newly formed Oceania Baseball Association and played his final two seasons there, spending 1962 with New Caledonia and 1963 with Melbourne. For his entire pro career, Han had 3515 hits, 1840 runs, 419 doubles, 402 triples, 322 home runs, 1486 RBI, 1175 stolen bases, a .308/.373/.499 slash, and 89.1 WAR.

Just within EAB, Han had 2968 hits, 1565 runs, 360 doubles, 354 triples, 293 home runs, 1302 RBI, 1057 stolen bases, a .322/.385/.533 slash, and 86.3 WAR. At retirement, his batting average was the highest of any EAB player and he had the most triples. His hit total was second only to Byung-Oh Tan’s 3871 and he was fifth all time in stolen bases and one of two Hall of Famers with 1000+ steals. Han was one of the best pure hitters of the era and deserving of first ballot induction, getting in at 95.3%.