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Two players got slam dunk inductions into the East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001. 1B Jun-Seong Noi had 98.3% and 3B Ju-Kan Yoo received 95.1%, easily picking up the first ballot honor. SS U-Seong San came very close on his second try, but missed the 66% requirement at 64.7%. LF Seong-Jae Kang and LF Jay-Hoon Cho both also had nice showings on their sixth ballots, but missed at 62.2% and 60.5%, respectively.



Two fell off after ten ballots. 1B Yuma Watanabe had a 14-year career mostly with Chiba, winning three Silver Sluggers and posting 1937 hits, 1151 runs, 384 doubles, 558 home runs, 1351 RBI, a .278/.341/.585 slash, 163 wRC+, and 61.4 WAR. Watanabe was hurt by being on some weak Comets teams and being at a position with more impressive sluggers. He still got as high as 51.6% on his second ballot, but was down to 26.2% by his last attempt.

Pitcher Hisataka Otsuka also fell off the ballot. He had a 14-year career with four teams and won 1979 Pitcher of the Year, winning two EAB titles with Kyoto and one with Sapporo. Otsuka had a 191-139 record, 3.06 ERA, 3021.1 innings, 2468 strikeouts, 116 ERA+, and 52.4 WAR. He had a lot of playoff opportunities as well with a 14-8 record, 3.25 ERA, 185.1 innings, 133 strikeouts, and 110 ERA+. Otsuka wasn’t overly dominant outside his POTY season, leading some voters to view him as a Hall of Pretty Good type. He made it to an even 50% on his second ballot as a peak, but was down to 19.9% by the end.



Jun-Seong “Sonny” Noi – First Base – Changwon Crabs – 98.3% First Ballot

Jun-Seong Noi was a 6’3’’, 195 pound right-handed first baseman from Incheon, South Korea. Noi was a very good contact hitter that was great at putting the ball in play, although he rarely drew walks. He had incredible speed with outstanding baserunning and base stealing ability. Noi still had a strong pop in his bat and wasn’t a singles slap hitter. His 162 game average saw 29 doubles, 14 triples, and 18 home runs per year.

That was an unusual profile for a guy that played exclusively at first base in his career. Noi was a reliably good gloveman as well. He’d become renowned as his era’s Iron Man, starting 148+ games in all but his first two seasons. Noi was always available and had a tremendous work ethic, making him one of Korea’s most beloved baseball figures in a career that spanned three decades.

Noi attended Woosung High School and his unique talents were evident even as a teenager. Changwon picked him fourth overall in the 1972 EAB Draft out of high school. The Crabs kept him in developmental in 1973, but used Noi as a part-time starter in 1974 at age 20. He struggled and clearly wasn’t ready yet, spending 1975 back on the reserve roster. He looked decent in 1976 with 62 starts, which earned him a starting job for the next 19 years after.

Noi finally reached his potential in 1978, his first of four straight seasons leading the Korea League in hits. He had the best batting average in 1980 and thrice led in stolen bases. Noi won Silver Sluggers in 1979 and 1980. In 1980, he earned Korea League MVP, helping the Crabs end a 15-year playoff drought. They fell in the first round, but Changwon extended their fan favorite with an eight-year, $5,220,000 deal.

Noi was popular throughout South Korea as well, although he only sporadically played in the World Baseball Championship for the national team. In six WBCs, he only had 37 games and 21 starts with forgettable results. Noi got noticed even though Changwon was outside of the playoff mix in the next few years. They usually were above .500 in the early 1980s, but not quite good enough to make the cut. Noi remained a good starter, but wasn’t an award winner for the next few years.

Noi would opt out of his Changwon contract after the 1985 season, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 32. It disappointed some Crabs fans, but he remained extremely popular and would see his #13 uniform later retired. In a decade with Changwon, Noi had 1953 hits, 878 runs, 272 doubles, 145 triples, 173 home runs, 840 RBI, 883 stolen bases, a .326/.348/.506 slash, 134 wRC+, and 47.7 WAR. He would end up signing a five-year, $4,300,000 deal to join Busan.

The Blue Jays didn’t break through in Noi’s run and he only spent two years there, again eventually opting out of his deal. He was plenty good in his two seasons with 12.2 WAR, 407 hits, 180 runs, and a .331/.360/.515 slash. While in Busan, he crossed 1000 career stolen bases. Now 34 years old, he signed a five-year, $5,300,000 deal with Ulsan.

The Swallows had won the Korea League pennant the prior year and Noi hoped this would get him closer to a championship. Alas, Ulsan fell to 82-80 in 1988 and bottomed out at 60-102 in 1990. Noi was his usual reliable self in the first two years, but struggled to a 95 wRC+ in 1990. With Ulsan, he had 567 hits, 245 runs, a .310/.326/.478 slash, and 11.9 WAR. Looking to rebuild completely, the Swallows traded Noi to Gwangju before the 1991 season for two prospects.

Noi had a remarkable career resurgence in 1991, winning his second Korea League MVP 11 years after his first one. He also had his third Silver Slugger, leading the KL in hits, stolen bases, and batting average with 8.2 WAR. The Grays won 101 games, but were upset in the first round of the playoffs. The next year, Gwangju got to the KLCS, but lost to Suwon. This was the closest Noi would get to a pennant in his career.

Notably in that 1992 season, he became EAB’s all-time stolen base king, passing Taek-Hyun Kim’s mark of 1347 that had been finalized in 1989. In only two seasons with Gwangju, Noi had 14.1 WAR with 402 hits, 195 runs, a .343/.362/.538 slash, and 151 wRC+. That showed he could still play at a high level even as he approached age 39. The iron man would earn a nice payday with a two-year, $4,480,000 MLB deal with Virginia Beach.

Noi was a respectable starter in his two years with the Vikings, posting 4.3 WAR and a 110 wRC+. The highlight came in 1994, hitting for the cycle against Washington. He came back to South Korea for 1995 on a one year deal with Seoul. Noi had a nice season and reached numerous milestones; 1500 stolen bases, 3500 hits, 1500 runs scored, and 1500 RBI. He hoped to play in 1996, but went unsigned and retired that winter at age 42.

Noi’s final stats in EAB saw 3519 hits, 1576 runs, 481 doubles, 251 triples, 318 home runs, 1554 RBI, 1557 stolen bases, a .325/.347/.504 slash, 134 wRC+, and 89.7 WAR. He remains EAB’s stolen base king as of 2037 and still sits fourth in hits. At induction, his combined 1656 stolen bases from EAB/MLB was the second most of any player in pro baseball history behind only Ishmael Perla, the 1973 Beisbol Sudamerica Hall of Famer with 1721 steals between BSA and MLB. Few players in EAB history were more exciting to watch on the basepaths, earning Noi the easy first ballot induction at 98.3%.



Ju-Kan Yoo – Third Base – Hamhung Heat – 95.1% First Ballot

Ju-Kan Yoo was a 6’3’’, 200 pound right-handed third baseman from Singpyong, North Korea; a county of around 63,000 people in the country’s North Hwanghae Province. Yoo was known as a strong home run hitter with respectable contact ability. His strikeout rate and ability to draw walks were both above average as well. Yoo averaged 35 home runs per 162 games with around 21 doubles and 9 triples. Despite his bigger frame, he had solid speed, although he was around 50/50 on steal attempts.

Yoo exclusively played at third base and as of 2037, is the EAB all-time leader at the position in games, starts, assists, putouts, total chances, and innings. He had a rocket arm, but weak range, grading out as below average for his career. Yoo was an iron man with outstanding durability, playing 144+ games every year from 1977-94.

Yoo attended Kamimura Gakuen High School and got noticed even as a teenager. In the 1969 EAB Draft, he was picked in the second round by Hamhung with the 43^rd overall pick. He officially debuted in 1973 at age 21, but he had only 16 at bats in pinch hit appearances between 1973 and 1974. After going back to the reserve roster in 1975, he spent half of 1976 active with 28 starts. Yoo earned the full-time gig in 1977 and was the fixture at third for the Heat for the next 17 years.

1978 was his finest year and only year as a league leader, topping Korean baseball in runs (105), RBI (122), and batting average (.336). Yoo won his first of seven Silver Sluggers and finished second in MVP voting. He won additional sluggers in 1979, 80, 81, 84, 88, and 89. Yoo was the definition of reliable. He also played for North Korea in the World Baseball Championship from 1978-95 with 138 games, 106 hits, 69 runs, 40 home runs, 75 RBI, a .235/.307/.534 slash, and 3.3 WAR.

Hamhung was stuck in the middle tier in the early 1980s, but Yoo was still a popular attraction. In April 1979, he signed a four-year, $2,102,000 contract extension, Yoo became a free agent after the 1983 season, but re-signed with the Heat on a five-year, $3,350,000 deal. At this point, Hamhung finally found some sustained success. From 1986-90, the Heat won four North Division titles. However, they lost in the first round of the playoffs each time. Yoo was unremarkable in 23 playoff games with a 98 wRC+ and 0.1 WAR.

Hamhung regressed hard after their last division win in 1990, spending the rest of the century in the bottom of the standings. Yoo inked a three-year, $3,000,000 extension after the 1988 campaign, followed by another three years at $3,840,000 before the 1991 season. His numbers stayed remarkably steady through his 30s, finally seeing a notably dip in 1993. That would be his final year with the Heat.

In total with Hamhung, Yoo had 2808 hits, 1535 runs, 360 doubles, 589 home runs, 1774 RBI, a .283/.329/.528 slash, 136 wRC+, and 83.9 WAR. The Heat would later retire his #13 uniform. They were in full fire sale mode after the 1993 campaign, trading Yoo to Suwon for three prospects. Despite coming off his worst year, the Snappers still extended Yoo two weeks later to a three-year, $4,980,000 extension.

Yoo had an impressive bounce back year in 1994, turning back the clock and tying his career best with 39 home runs at age 42. The Snappers won 100 games and the division, but fell in the first round of the playoffs. Yoo would struggle the next year and get relegated to a bench role. He would reach notable milestones with Suwon, becoming the 24^th to 600 home runs and the 16^th to 3000 hits. Yoo retired after the 1995 season at age 44, having posted 6.4 WAR and 53 home runs with the Snappers.

For his full career, Yoo had 3009 hits, 1656 runs, 383 doubles, 160 triples, 642 home runs, 1889 RBI, 603 stolen bases, a .282/.329/.529 slash, 137 wRC+, and 90.3 WAR. As of 2037, he’s the all-time leader among EAB third basemen in total bases and RBI. At induction, he was sixth in EAB in RBI and still sits 10^th as of 2037. Yoo’s remarkable longevity and consistency gave him totals you couldn’t deny, earning the first ballot pick at 95.1%.