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Three players earned a spot in the East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame with the 1990 ballot. RF Takuya Yamada was the undisputed star of the group with a 98.1% first ballot selection. SP Sohichiro Nakano also earned a first ballot nod, although he sat at 74.6%. The third member was RP Kyeong Pyo, who narrowly crossed the 66% requirement with 69.7% in his fifth attempt. SP Ho-In Koh barely missed out on being a first ballot selection himself at 64.0%. One other was above 50% with SP Kunizo Tsuda at 58.0% in his second ballot. No players were dropped after ten tries.



Takuya “Tornado” Yamada – Right Field – Seoul Seahawks – 98.1% First Ballot

Takuya Yamada was a 6’2’’, 175 pound right-handed right fielder from Kitakami, a city of around 90,000 people in Japan’s Iwate Prefecture. Nicknamed “Tornado,” Yamada was a solid contact hitter with very reliable power. He averaged around 30-40 home runs per year along with around 40 doubles/triples per season. He was above average at drawing walks, although a bit below average at avoiding strikeouts. Yamada had nice speed, but he was a surprisingly poor baserunner despite being considered generally intelligent. Yamada exclusively was a right fielder and was viewed as consistently good defensively, although he never won a Gold Glove largely due to being a contemporary of 13-time Gold Glove winner Hyeog-Jun Wi.

Yamada shined at Yamagata Chuo High School, which got many teams in Japan wanting to convince him to skip college and go pro. One of those was Sapporo, who selected Yamada third overall in the 1966 EAB Draft. He signed on the dotted line and made his debut with 6 plate appearances in 1968. The next year, he became a part-time starter, then a full-timer afterward. From 1970-1983, he started 145+ games in all but one season, earning an ironman stature.

Yamada would league the league with 38 doubles in his first full season and was a very good starter in his first few seasons. He’d start to get notice as an elite player in 1973 and in 1974, he finished second in MVP voting with the batting title (.355) along with career highs in WAR (10.1), and runs (124). Sapporo made the playoffs in 1972 and 1974 after struggling throughout the 1960s, but Yamada couldn’t get them to the pennant. He was very solid again in 1975 and 1976, but the team regressed towards the middle of the standings. With the Swordfish, Yamada finished with 1194 hits, 604 runs, 225 doubles, 196 home runs, 608 RBI, a .299/.354/.538 slash, and 44.1 WAR.

Sapporo seemed committed to Yamada and signed him to an eight-year, $3,478,000 contract extension just before the start of the 1976 season. Four months later, they got an offer they couldn’t refuse from Seoul, who was trying to make a push to snap their nearly three decade playoff drought. Yamada was traded for 1B Danjuro Yoshida, pitcher Dong-Hyeon Yu, and 3B Kansuke Ota. Those three, Ota especially, ended up as important contributors in helping the Swordfish become a regular playoff team throughout the 1980s.

Seoul inherited a big contract, but they felt Yamada was worth the investment. They were right as he won five Silver Sluggers from 1977-82. His power picked up and he led the Korea League three times in total bases, twice in slugging, and twice in RBI. Yamada was third in MVP voting in 1977, then won the award for the only time in 1978. He was second in MVP voting in 1980 and third in 1981. In 1980, he posted a career best 50 home runs and led the KL in runs, RBI, total bases, and WAR.

Most importantly, Yamada’s success helped Seoul snap a playoff drought dating back to 1951. They made the playoffs three times from 1978-81 with two North Division titles. In 1979, the Seahawks won the East Asian Championship and Yamada was integral, winning finals MVP. In that run, he made 15 playoff starts with 19 hits, 16 runs, 9 home runs, and 20 RBI. His role in bringing Seoul a ring made him popular for many years after with Seahawk fans and was a big reason why his #44 uniform was retired by the team. In total with Seoul, Yamada had 1477 hits, 800 runs, 253 doubles, 297 home runs, 892 RBI, a .319/.376/.609 slash, and 55.1 WAR.

The Seahawks would be decent, but miss the playoffs in Yamada’s final seasons there. His last year there in 1984 was plagued by an oblique strain that knocked him out nearly three months. Yamada’s contract ended after this season and at age 37, he was a free agent for the first time in his career. It was hard to pass up the allure of MLB money and he signed a three-year, $3,820,000 deal with Phoenix. This would nearly triple his yearly earnings from his top salary with Seoul.

Yamada really didn’t live up to the price tag with the career .300+ hitter only batting .235. He was a starter and earned a World Series ring in 1985 with the Firebirds, although Yamada posted negative WAR in his 16 playoff starts. Phoenix kept him a starter for part of 1986, but he’d miss the second half to injury and finish the year in minor league Tucson. The Firebirds cut him and Yamada ended up in an odd spot to finish his career, going to Russia with Irkutsk. He made a couple starts in 1987 with the Ice Cats and was a full-time bench piece the next year with forgettable results. Yamada technically signed late in 1989 with minor league Raleigh, but never played a game there and retired at age 41.

For his EAB career, Yamada had 2671 hits, 1404 runs, 478 doubles, 167 triples, 493 home runs, 1500 RBI, a .310/.366/.576 slash, 162 wRC+, and 99.2 WAR. He wasn’t at the very top of the leaderboards, but he quietly had reached 15^th all-time at induction in batting WAR. Yamada was popular and his role in Seoul’s 1979 championship season was a clincher. The voters felt “Tornado” was an easy choice, putting him in on the first ballot at 98.1%.



Sohichiro Nakano – Starting Pitcher – Kobe Blaze – 74.6% First Ballot

Sohichiro Nakano was a 6’2’’, 205 pound right-handed pitcher from Ni****ama, a district within the Tokyo Metropolis. Nakano was a well-rounded pitcher with solid stuff, control, and movement. His velocity peaked in the 98-100 mph with a five pitch arsenal of led by a splitter and a cutter, plus a forkball, curveball, and changeup. Nakano mixed them well, making him hard to solve. He was considered a very good defensive pitcher and won Gold Gloves in both 1975 and 1976. Nakano’s stamina wasn’t amazing, but perfectly acceptable. It would be injuries that would prevent him from reaching his fullest potential.

Nakano was arguably the top college prospect entering the 1971 EAB Draft after his run at Toyo University in Kawagoe. Chiba would pick him second overall in the draft and immediately throw him into the rotation full time. Nakano struggled in his rookie season, but found his groove as an average starter in the next three years. He only ultimately played four years for the Comets with a 45-53 record, 3.84 ERA, 941.2 innings, 910 strikeouts, and 20.0 WAR. Chiba was still a crappy team at that point and Nakano hadn’t turned into the lights out ace they had expected from the #2 overall pick.

After the 1975 season, Nakano was traded to divisional foe Tokyo for SP Pijon Ono and SS Ji-Hun Kangjon. It all clicked for him with the Tides, as Nakano led the Japan League in back-to-back seasons. He took second in Pitcher of the Year voting in 1976, then won the award in 1977 with an outstanding 1.42 ERA and 26-4 record with a league-best 9.9 WAR. At that point, that was the sixth lowest ERA in a season in EAB history and tied for the second most wins. It also earned him a third place in MVP voting. The highlight of the season was a 12 strikeout no-hitter against his former team Chiba.

Nakano’s productive also started to improve in the World Baseball Championship for Team Japan. From 1974-84, he had a 3.59 ERA over 133 innings with a 10-5 record, 154 strikeouts, and 2.1 WAR. Tokyo made the playoffs both years he was there and Nakano had a solid 2.66 ERA over 23.2 innings. However, the Tides couldn’t claim the league title. In his Tokyo stint, Nakano had a 1.75 ERA, 44-11 record, 468.1 innings, 541 strikeouts, and 16.5 WAR. That excellent run allowed Nakano to enter free agency at age 28 with teams expecting an elite ace.

Kobe signed Nakano to a seven-year, $2,884,000 deal. It would ultimately be his longest run and the hat he wore into the Hall of Fame. It had a rough start with severe shoulder inflammation costing him more than half of his debut 1979 season. Nakano bounced back with solid 1979 and 1980 efforts, earning third in Pitcher of the Year in 1979 and second in 1980. He never reached the dominance of his peak run, but he was a solid arm that helped Kobe win four division titles to start the 1980s. Nakano stunk in the playoffs with the Blaze though with a 5.68 ERA over 38 innings.

A triceps injury cost him a chunk of 1981, which was a very middling year statistically. He bounced back with a solid 1982, but suffered a torn labrum at the start of the 1983 season. Nakano returned in 1984 and was iffy in 58.2 innings before tearing the labrum yet again, this time forcing his retirement at only age 34. With Kobe, he had a 72-51 record, 2.87 ERA, 1130.2 innings, 1121 strikeouts, and 23.9 WAR.

For his full career, Nakano had a 161-115 record, 3.03 ERA, 2540.2 innings, 2572 strikeouts to 409 walks, 219/336 quality starts, a 78 FIP-, and 60.5 WAR. He was popular and really rode the wave from that 1977 season into being viewed as more impressive than the stats indicate. His accumulations are on the lower end of Hall of Fame pitchers, although there were voters who gave him a break based on what could have been if not for the injuries. Some baseball scholars argue that Nakano is among the weakest first ballot guys in EAB’s Hall of Fame, but regardless, he earned that distinction at 74.6%.



Kyeong Pyo – Closer – Busan Blue Jays – 69.7% Fifth Ballot

Kyeong Pyo was a 6’0’’, 195 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Sonsan, a large village of around 20,000 people in central South Korea. Pyo was a hard thrower with 98-100 mph peak velocity with a one-two punch of a terrific cuter and decent sinker. He had good stuff despite his movement and control being considered above average at best. Pyo was a good defensive pitcher with great durability and stamina for a reliever. Pyo would get criticized though for a perceived lack of work ethic and thick-headedness.

Busan signed Pyo as a teenage amateur in 1959 at age 16. He made his debut in 1965 at age 22 and moved into the closer role for the next six seasons with the Blue Jays. These were his most impactful seasons, finishing second in Reliever of the Year voting twice (1968, 1971) and third in 1967. After a more than 20 year playoff drought, Busan won the EAB Championship in 1971. Pyo played a big role in that postseason with four saves and a 1.00 ERA over nine innings. In total with the Blue Jays, he had 214 saves and 241 shutdowns, a 1.99 ERA, 534.2 innings, 601 strikeouts, and 15.3 WAR.

Coming off this high, Pyo decided to leave Busan and sign a three-year, $668,000 deal with Seoul. This started a journeyman phase for Pyo, who was disappointed by generally not being used as a closer. He had the role in 1973 with the Seahawks, but saw somewhat limited use otherwise decent but far from outstanding results. Pyo was traded at the deadline in 1974 to Daegu, who ended up winning the Korea League title that year.. He pitched 19 innings without allowing an earned run for the Diamondbacks, but got rocked in two postseason appearances.

Pyo was a free agent again at age 32 and signed a three-year deal with Goyang worth $800,000. He was used as middle relief and a setup man with the Green Sox, posting a 2.40 ERA, 12 saves, 39 shutdowns, and 3.1 WAR in that run. Pyo then signed with Suwon in 1978 and got one last shot at the closer job, becoming the 17^th EAB reliever to 300 career saves. He went back to Seoul in 1979 and was part of their EAB Championship roster, although he wasn’t used in the playoffs. Pyo was cut after the 1980 season and found work in Russia for 1981 with Ufa. The Fiends cut him in September and he signed with Kazan later that month, although he wasn’t used. After going unsigned in 1982, Pyo retired at age 39.

For his EAB run, Pyo had a 2.21 ERA over 1005.2 innings, 308 saves and 386 shutdowns, 1114 strikeouts, 216 walks, and 25.1 WAR. By raw stats, he’s one of the least impressive members of the EAB Hall of Fame, but the voters had been closer friendly with two other guys getting inducted even with lower WAR totals. 300 saves wasn’t a guarantee, but it got you a look with EAB’s deciders. Pyo debuted at 58.% and got to 64.2% in his third ballot, but a drop to 42.0% on the fourth try made many think he’d be destined to the Hall of Good. On the fifth attempt, Pyo got the bump to 69.7% to secure a spot in the EAB Hall of Fame as the third member of the 1990 class.