GoG Nomination: Sadaharu Oh
It strikes me as silly that the Baseball Hall of Fame only includes players from American teams, in fact just two leagues, augmented by an effort to retrospectively cull the best of the Negro Leagues. Just as MLB overlooked a great deal of black talent before Jackie Robinson’s debut, so did it overlook most Latin American talent until the 1960s, and Japanese talent until 1995. Yet baseball has been played in Japan since 1872 - nearly as long as in the United States. Obviously, performance in the Japanese or Mexican leagues is more difficult for us to evaluate. But I’d like the Gallery of Greatness to recognize baseball greatness wherever and whenever it flourishes, and to that end I offer a nomination that should be fairly easy to evaluate: Sadaharu Oh.
Playing from 1959 to 1980, he won 9 MVP awards, back-to-back Triple Crowns in 1973 and 1974, and was a 20-time All Star. He set NPB career marks in home runs (868), runs batted in (2,170), runs (1,967), total bases (5,862), slugging percentage (.634) and walks (2,390). His 2,786 hits rank third all-time in NPB, and his career batting average of .301 ranks 14th.
A very good analysis of Oh’s merits appears here.
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:48 am
But perhaps he’s just Jack Cust - that AAAA player who’s great in the minors, but just not quite good enough for MLB? It’s possible… but I doubt it. I suspect its more a case that he’s Josh Gibson, who just never got a chance to show what he could do in MLB. As with the Negro Leagues (especially before MLB integration), the best Japanese players stayed in the Japanese Leagues - and what we’ve seen in the past decade is that some good talent can be found on the Pacific Rim. (As noted separately, Ichiro may make Cooperstown despite a “limited” MLB career.)
I’m not willing to put him on level with the Babe Ruths, Ted Williams, or Jimmie Foxxes of the GoG… but in my mind, Oh is an easy selection.
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Incidentally, Neumann and Anderson, we’re still waiting for you to come across with your Rose and Flood nominations.
“All in favor say ‘I’”
“We need the dues!”
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Also incidentally, Ichiro won the MVP award in Japan three years running before coming to America.
And did Jimmy Foxx always spell his name that way, or did he adopt a nom de plume while moonlighting in the porn industry?
January 24th, 2008 at 6:29 am
“Jimmie Foxx… did he used to be a porn star?”
“Doesn’t say here.”
“Well… he oughta.”
“Clu Haywood… didn’t he do jail time?”
“Doesn’t say here.”
“Well… he oughta.”
Actually was Harry Doyle talking about Clu Haywood or Duke Temple? I forget now.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
OK, it’s been a week. Last call for objections, else Oh-San enters the Gallery.
February 1st, 2008 at 8:56 am
Done. Cliffy, Tank, and Gonzo - apparently the only voters for the GoG - have spoken. Next.