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2B/3B Ryuichi Sawa was East Asia Baseball’s lone Hall of Famer for 2030, crossing the 66% requirement on his second ballot at 72.8%. The best debut was CL Sadaharu Chiba who just missed at 64.4%. Three other returners were above 50% with 1B Kyu-Seong Lee at 56.7% on his fifth ballot, C Ha-Jun Au at 55.4% on his fourth go, and CL Geon-U Kang with 53.9% with his fifth ballot.



The one player dropped after ten ballots was CL Kyung-Bok Jung, who had a 19-year career between both EAB and WAB with nine teams. He had one Reliever of the Year with Sendai in 2003 and was the closer for Seoul’s 2005 championship team. In EAB, Jung had 291 saves, 2.62 ERA, 1135.1 innings, 1329 strikeouts, 296 walks, 137 ERA+, and 30.3 WAR. Jung had more innings than a lot of eligible choices, but lacked the overwhelming dominance of the previous HOF picks. He got as high as 49.1% on his second ballot before ending with a mere 7.7%.



Ryuichi “Bulldog” Sawa – Second/Third Base – Hiroshima Hammerheads – 72.8% Second Ballot

Ryuichi Sawa was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting second and third baseman from Ebina, Japan; a city of 141,000 in the Kanagawa Prefecture. Sawa was a great contact hitter with a steady pop in his bat. He wasn’t one to produce prolific stats, but his 162 game average still got you a nice 29 home runs, 28 doubles, and 6 triples. Sawa was solid at avoiding strikeouts, but rarely drew walks.

His strength was most noticeable against right-handed pitching (.910 OPS, 174 wRC+) compared to against lefties (.791 OPS, 138 wRC+). Sawa’s baserunning ability was excellent and made him a threat even with below average speed. Defensively, he went back and forth between second and third base with around 70% of his starts at second. Sawa graded as a poor defender at either spot, although his metrics were stronger at third base.

Still, Sawa’s bat definitely deserved a spot in the lineup and you rarely found someone that strong offensively who could play a somewhat passable 2B. His durability held up fairly well over a 19 season run. Sawa was also an absolute gem of a human being and a phenomenal captain. His character was above reproach and he became one of the most universally respected figures of Japanese baseball. Sawa’s grit led to the affectionate nickname “Bulldog.”

In June 2001, Sawa signed a developmental deal with Kumamoto. He made his debut in 2005 at age 20 and looked solid with 2.9 WAR and .931 OPS over 107 games and 42 starts. Sawa earned a full-time starting gig after that. With the Monsters, he won Silver Sluggers in 2007 and 2009 at second base and 2010 at third.

2007 was Sawa’s first of four seasons worth 7+ WAR and saw him hit for the cycle. He won a batting title with a career-best .339 average in 2009 and also set career highs in WAR (8.0), OBP (.381), slugging (.600), and OPS (.981). Sawa led the Japan League with 123 RBI, also a career best. Kumamoto was generally competitive during his tenure with playoff trips in 2010 and 2011.

In 2010, the Monsters lost in the JLCS to Kyoto with Sawa posting 0.2 WAR over six playoff starts. He missed part of that post season to a sprained ankle. He surprisingly didn’t play in 2011 as Kumamoto took the top seed at 100-62, but was upset in the first round by Sapporo. Sawa ultimately decided not to re-sign after that, leaving for free agency at age 27.

With Kumamoto, Sawa had 962 games, 1062 hits, 459 runs, 183 doubles, 48 triples, 156 home runs, 529 RBI, 177 steals, .321/.352/.547 slash, 168 wRC+, and 40.9 WAR. His next stop was his signature run, signing an eight-year, $124,200,000 deal with Hiroshima. Sawa helped lead the Hammerheads to a seven-year streak of West Division titles from 2012-18. He won Silver Sluggers (all at 2B) in 2013, 16, 17, and 18).

Hiroshima repeated as Japan League in 2012-13, but couldn’t get by Goyang in 2012 or Daegu in 2013 for the EAB Championship. The Hammerheads finished 9-10 in the 2012 Baseball Grand Championship and 6-13 in 2013. Sawa was particularly strong in the 2012 playoff run and won MVP of the JLCS. 2013 was his lone season as a league MVP finalist, taking second.

In August 2014, Sawa suffered a torn PCL that knocked him out nine months. He bounced back impressively from that, but Hiroshima ran into a playoff roadblock. From 2014-17, their season ended each time in the JLCS. 2018 had their best record of the streak at 102-60, but they were upset in the first round. While there was some frustration from fans for the failure to get over that final hump, you certainly couldn’t blame Sawa.

In 46 playoff starts for the Hammerheads, Sawa had a .328/.357/.644 slash, 213 wRC+, 3.2 WAR, 58 hits, 37 runs, 10 doubles, 14 home runs, and 27 RBI. He was also 2017 JLCS MVP even in defeat. Sawa had been middling in the 2012 BGC with a .702 OPS and 0.1 WAR in 19 games, but fared better in 2013 with .847 OPS and 0.7 WAR. Sawa’s overall contributions and leadership in eight years with Hiroshima led to his #8 uniform eventually getting retired.

Sawa’s run with Hiroshima had an ugly end with early season struggles followed by a broken kneecap in the autumn. His future was now in doubt heading back to gree agency at age 35. For the Hammerheads, Sawa played 1068 games with 1239 hits, 611 runs, 172 doubles, 228 home runs, 650 RBI, 128 steals, .309/.336/.540 slash, 167 wRC+, and 44.0 WAR.

Kyoto gave Sawa a shot for three years and $18,900,000, a hefty pay cut from his peak. He was a bench piece in 2020 with merely okay results. Sawa had a resurgence though in 2021 despite losing six weeks to a strained PCL. In 113 games and 108 starts, Sawa posted 6.6 WAR, .972 OPS, and 196 wRC+. This high level of play allowed Kyoto to end a six-year playoff drought and take the top seed at 105-57.

The Kamikaze went all the way, winning the EAB Championship over Changwon. Sawa had another strong playoff performance in 18 starts with 23 hits, 10 runs, 5 home runs, 10 RBI, .853 OPS, and 0.8 WAR. His performance was lackluster in the Baseball Grand Championship with .635 OPS and 0.1 WAR in 18 starts as Kyoto finished 10-9.

Unfortunately, Sawa missed almost all of 2022 between a torn calf muscle and torn meniscus. Still, the signing was a success since he helped Kyoto to their 2021 title. In 234 games and 138 starts, Sawa had 204 hits, 93 runs, 44 doubles, 12 triples, 28 homers, 105 RBI, .311/.339/.543 slash, 165 wRC+, and 7.2 WAR.

His body was starting to break down, but Sawa wasn’t ready to call it quits yet. Tokyo gave him a one-year deal for 2023 which saw only 95 games and 39 starts with more injuries. Sawa was unimpressive with .681 OPS, 97 wRC+, and 0.6 WAR for the Tides. He opted to retire that winter at age 39.

Sawa ended with 2359 games, 2554 hits, 1183 runs, 408 doubles, 94 triples, 419 home runs, 1309 RBI, 283 walks, 1099 strikeouts, 311 steals, .313/.341/.540 slash, 166 wRC+, and 92.6 WAR. As of 2037, Sawa ranks 92^nd in hits and 61^st in WAR among position players, but he doesn’t crack the top 100 in any other counting stat.

Some voters felt his tallies simply weren’t high enough. That and a lack of black ink placed him in the “Hall of Pretty Good” for some voters. But Sawa certainly had supporters, especially for his big time playoff numbers and role in pennants for both
Hiroshima and Kyoto. Not many guys had seven Silver Sluggers and he ranked 7^th in WAR specifically accrued at second base (70.46).

Perhaps most important were Sawa’s leadership and high character; intangibles that were hard to quantify. He missed the cut in his 2029 ballot debut at 62.5%. With no locks debuting in 2030, Sawa got the bump across the 66% line with 72.8%. He earned his spot as a second ballot selection as East Asia Baseball’s lone Hall of Famer for the 2030 class.