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The 1989 East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame class was one of the most impressive of all-time. Four first ballot selections were made with all four guys getting above 95%. RF Hyeog-Jun Wi had the highest mark at 99.3%, followed by SP Shuichiro Sato at 99.0%, 1B Yu-Jin Choi at 98.6%, and 3B Yeong-Il Weon at 95.5%. No one else was above 50%.



Dropped after ten failed ballots was catcher Jung-Soo Chen, who ended at 37.2% with a peak of 53.9% and valley of 12.3%. Chen won 11 Silver Sluggers in a 17-year career with Hamhung, but the anti-catcher bias of the voters struck again. He had 2142 hits, 833 runs, 451 doubles, 143 home runs, 901 RBI, a .308/.345/.446 slash, and 63.6 WAR. At retirement, he had the second most WAR of any catcher and was the only EAB catcher with 2000+ hits. But catcher stats by default are less impressive than other positions and the voters didn’t give him any quarter. As a result, Sang-Sik Bom remained EAB’s only Hall of Fame catcher and wouldn’t have company until the 2010s.

Also dropped after ten failed ballots was close Sun-Yong Sung, who peaked at 40.0% but ended at 7.3%. He had a 19-year career, but bounced between EAB and MLB and 12 different teams. In EAB, he had 313 saves, a 3.03 ERA, 1080 strikeouts, 915 innings, and 22.8 WAR. Sung won Reliever of the Year once, but lacked the dominance of other notables. His 425 pro saves for his entire career might have gotten him more notice if he got them all in EAB.



Hyeog-Jun “Jet” Wi – Right Field – Hiroshima Hammerheads – 99.3% First Ballot

Hyeog-Jun Wi was a 6’3’’, 205 pound left-handed right fielder from Seoul, South Korea. Wi was an excellent slugger who average around 45 home runs per season, six times hitting 50+. He was an above average contact hitter, but despite his power profile, he was fairly weak at drawing walks and only okay at avoiding strikeouts. Wi had great gap power along with his homer power, averaging around 40 doubles/triples per year. He was able to leg out extra bases with solid speed, although his baserunning instincts weren’t the best. Wi was a career right fielder and an stellar defender, winning 13 Gold Gloves. He was also an ironman, who made 140+ starts in all but his first and final seasons.

Wi’s potential was immediately spotted by many and he was poised to be the top South Korean prospect by the time he graduated high school. Knowing they wouldn’t have a shot at him in the draft due to regional restrictions, Hiroshima pursed Wi and signed him as a teenage amateur free agent in late 1960. The Hammerheads had him in their developmental system for three years and felt his was ready for the big time in 1964. Wi debuted at only age 19, a rarity in professional baseball. He showed he was ready for the big time with 3.5 WAR in 131 games and 107 starts, earning 1964 Rookie of the Year honors.

In his second season, Wi won his first of 13 consecutive Gold Gloves. He was the undisputed best defender at his position and the first player in Japan League history to win 13 at any position. As of 2037, he’s one of only four in all of East Asia Baseball with 13 or more Gold Gloves. On the all-time leaderboard in right field, Wi as of 2037 is the career leader in zone rating, assists, putouts, games, innings, total chances, and double plays.

Wi’s reliable defense made him valuable right away, but by his third season, he had discovered his power stroke with a 47 home run season, earning a third place finish in MVP voting. This began a 12-year run with Hiroshima with 39 or more home runs in each season, adding 100+ RBI in ten of those seasons. With the Hammerheads, Wi led the Japan League in triples thrice, RBI thrice, runs once, home runs once, total bases four times, slugging three times, OPS twice, and WAR once. He would post six seasons worth 8+ WAR and twice reached double-digits.

Wi was a critical piece of Hiroshima putting together a dynasty run with four Japan League titles from 1968-72. The Hammerheads won the EAB ring in 1969, 1970, and 1972 as well. Wi excelled in the postseason, winning EAB Championship MVP in 1969 and 1972, plus JLCS MVP in 1968, 69, and 70. In 56 playoff starts with Hiroshima, Wi had a .343/.378/.817 slash, 73 hits, 45 runs, 4 doubles, 11 triples, 25 home runs, and 45 RBI for 4.6 WAR and a 240 wRC+. He smacked 10 home runs in the 1969 postseason, setting a still-standing EAB record. At induction, he was tied for second all-time in playoff homers with 28.

Wi was Japan League MVP in 1969 and 1973. He was third in 1966, second in 1967, second in 1970, and third in 1979. He won six Silver Sluggers (1969, 70, 72, 73, 77, 79). After their 1972 title, Hiroshima faded into the bottom of the standings for the rest of the 1970s, but Wi was still great. He had a career best 59 home runs in 1973 and had a five-year streak of 50+ home runs. Wi played 14 seasons with Hiroshima and had 2347 hits, 1353 runs, 289 doubles, 236 triples, 637 home runs, 1477 RBI, a .297/.336/.635 slash, and 102.7 WAR. He was a beloved figure with Hammerheads fans and saw his #50 uniform retired as soon as his baseball career ended.

Hiroshima bottomed out with a lousy 54-108 season in 1977. Wi was entering a contract year, having signed an eight-year, $3,060,000 extension back in 1970. Figuring they wouldn’t be able to keep him around, Wi was traded before the 1978 season to Goyang for two prospects. There were no hard feelings and Wi kept up good relations with Hiroshima and their fans. His average went down and his one year with the Green Sox was statistically his worst since his rookie year, although Wi still hit 43 home runs. He still helped Goyang to a JLCS berth, but they were knocked out by Sendai.

Now 34-years old, Wi entered free agency for the first time and signed a four-year, $1,682,000 deal with defending Korea League champion Daegu. He showed some of that old spark in his first year with the Diamondbacks, posting 55 home runs and 121 RBI. Despite his prolific power, this was only the second time in his career as the home run leader. Daegu ended up one-and-done in the playoffs and would be a middling team in the rest of his run.

Wi was still good, but not incredible in his remaining three seasons with Daegu. In total, he posted 608 hits, 384 runs, 160 home runs, 436 RBI, and 18.9 WAR. With the Diamondbacks, Wi became the second EAB batter to 800 career home runs in 1981, the third to 2000 RBI in 1982, and the ninth to 3000 hits in 1982.

He was a free agent again in 1983 at age 38 and there was some thought that he could catch Lei Meng’s all-time marks of 897 home runs and 2089 RBI. Wi signed a two-year deal with Goyang and still managed to put up 33 home runs and 85 RBI with 2.8 WAR. This allowed him to become the new East Asia Baseball RBI king at 2097, but he was still short of the home run mark at 873. Wi decided not to come back one more year to chase Meng’s mark, retiring after the 1983 season at age 39.

Wi’s final stats: 3216 hits, 1906 runs, 395 doubles, 335 triples, 873 home runs, 2097 RBI, 583 walks, 461 stolen bases, a .286/.329/.615 slash, 164 wRC+, and 128.2 WAR. At induction, Wi was first in RBI, second in home runs, fifth in hits, fifth in runs, second in triples, sixth in hitting WAR, and third in games played. He remained the RBI leader until the late 2010s and as of 2037 is still third all-time in RBI, fifth in home runs, and eighth in batting WAR. Wi’s hitting accomplishments are deserving on their own, but his stellar defense and playoff heroics make him a true “inner-circle” Hall of Famer and the star of the impressive 1989 EAB class at 99.3%.



Shuichiro Sato – Starting Pitcher – Kyoto Kamikaze – 99.0% First Ballot

Shuichiro Sato was a 5’11’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher from Hita, Japan; a city of around 65,000 people in the southwestern Oita Prefecture. Sato was known for having excellent movement on his pitches with good stuff and okay control. His fastball only peaked at 95-97 mph, but it was still one of the best in the game with its movement. Sato mixed it with a great slider and decent changeup and had an extreme groundball tendency. His stamina was very weak compared to the typical ace with his 13 complete games being the lowest for any EAB Hall of Famer. Sato was an excellent team leader and captain who worked hard, making him one of the most popular pitchers of his era.

Sato attended Osaka Keizai University and was picked 15^th overall in the 1969 East Asia Baseball Draft by Kyoto. He saw a lot of use immediately between starting and the bullpen and even threw a no-hitter in his rookie season with three strikeouts and two walks against Sendai. This helped Sato earn the 1970 Rookie of the Year. He emerged as an ace by his third season, leading the Japan League in ERA, FIP-, and WAR. This earned him the Pitcher of the Year.

Sato won Pitcher of the Year again in 1973 with a career best 1.69 ERA, 23-4 record, and 0.85 WHIP. This began a five-year streak as division champs for Kyoto, would win the Japan League pennant in 1974, 76, and 77. The Kamikaze won the EAB title in 74 and 76 as well with Sato posting a 2.61 playoff ERA over 82.2 innings with 108 strikeouts and 2.9 WAR. He also was a regular for Japan’s World Baseball Championship squad from 1971-81, posting a 2.78 ERA over 132.2 innings with 144 strikeouts and 3.5 WAR.

After his 1973 peak season, Sato wasn’t seen at the top of leaderboards for the next few seasons, although he still reliably was posting around 6 WAR per year. He took third in 1976 Pitcher of the Year voting and second in 1977, posting a sub-two ERA in the latter. In 1980, he led in ERA for the third time and had a career best 9.4 WAR. This earned Sato his third Pitcher of the Year, seven years after he had gotten his second.

In late 1981, Sato suffered shoulder inflammation that had a setback and required surgery, putting him out 11 months in total. He came back in autumn 1982 to a struggling Kyoto squad and was unremarkable in his little use. He’d suffer a partially torn UCL that September, which ended his time with Kyoto. Sato still remained very popular and would see his #27 uniform retired in 1983. He still wanted to pitch and signed with Yokohama, but Sato struggled in 90.1 innings with the Yellow Jackets. He retired after the 1983 campaign at age 36.

Sato’s final stats: 188-83 record, 2.52 ERA, 2612.2 innings, 2875 strikeouts, 223/363 quality starts, 67 FIP-, and 76.3 WAR. His accumulations and innings were on the lower end of Hall of Fame EAB pitchers, but his rate stats were more than worthy. Sato also had the benefits of three Pitcher of the Year awards and a starring role in a dynasty run for Kyoto. The voters didn’t hesitate one bit when his name popped up and even in the loaded 1989 class, Sato received an impressive 99.0%.