Sadaharu Oh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sadaharu Oh
Sadaharu Oh in 2023
First baseman / Manager
Born: (1940-05-20) May 20, 1940 (age 85) Sumida, Tokyo, Japan
Batted: Left Threw: Left
debut
April 11, 1959, for the Yomiuri Giants
Last appearance
October 12, 1980, for the Yomiuri Giants
NPB statistics
Batting average	.301
Hits	2,786
Home runs	868
Runs batted in	2,170
Stolen bases	84
Teams
As player Yomiuri Giants (1959–1980) As manager Yomiuri Giants (1984–1988) Fukuoka Daiei Hawks • Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (1995–2008) As executive Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (2009-present)
Career highlights and awards
As player 11× Japan Series champion (1961, 1963, 1965–1973) 9× Central League MVP (1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977) 2× Japanese Triple Crown (1973, 1974) 3× Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize (1974, 1976, 1977) Hit for the cycle on April 25, 1963 Yomiuri Giants #1 retired As manager 2× Japan Series champion (1999, 2003) Fukuoka Daiei/SoftBank Hawks #89 honored As executive 7× Japan Series champion (2011, 2014, 2015, 2017–2020) NPB/World records 868 Career Home runs (World record) 1.079 Career OPS (Japanese record) 2,170 Career Runs batted in (Japanese record)
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1994

Wang Chen-chih Sadaharu Ō
Hand print of Sadaharu Oh
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	王貞治
Simplified Chinese	王贞治
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wáng Zhēnzhì Bopomofo ㄨㄤˊ ㄓㄣㄓˋ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Wang Jenjyh Tongyong Pinyin Wang2 Chên1-chih4
Japanese name
Kanji	王 貞治
Kana	おう さだはる
Transcriptions Romanization Ō Sadaharu

Sadaharu Oh (Japanese: 王貞治, Ō Sadaharu), also known as Wang Chen-chih, was born on May 20, 1940. He is a famous Japanese-born Chinese former professional baseball player and manager. Today, he is the chairman of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks baseball team in Japan.

Oh played his entire career for the Yomiuri Giants baseball team. He holds the world record for career home runs with 868. This is more than 100 home runs above the record holder in MLB, Barry Bonds.

Oh batted and threw with his left hand. He mostly played first base. He first joined the Giants in 1959 as a pitcher. However, he soon became a full-time hitter. His coach, Hiroshi Arakawa, helped him create his special "flamingo" leg kick. It took Oh three years to become a star, but then he became one of the best players in Japanese baseball.

He won the home run title 15 times and was chosen for the Central League All-Star team 18 times. Oh was not just a power hitter; he also won the batting champion award five times. He won the Japanese Central League's batting triple crown twice. With Oh on the team, the Yomiuri Giants won 11 Japan Series championships. This included an amazing 9 wins in a row from 1965 to 1973. Oh was named the Central League's Most Valuable Player nine times.

Besides the world home run record, Oh set many other Japanese baseball records. These include runs batted in (RBI) (2,170), slugging percentage (.634), bases on balls (2,390), and on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) (1.080). He held Japan's record for most home runs in a single season with 55. This record was broken in 2013 by Wladimir Balentien. In 1977, Oh received the first-ever People's Honour Award. He was added to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.

After he stopped playing, Oh managed the Giants from 1984 to 1988. He also managed the Fukuoka Daiei/Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks from 1995 to 2008. He was the manager for the Japanese national team in the first 2006 World Baseball Classic. His team won the championship by beating Cuba. He is currently the chairman of the Hawks.

Sadaharu Oh's Early Life

Oh was born in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. He was one of six children. His mother, Tomi Oh, was Japanese. His father, Shifuku Oh, was Chinese. Even though he was born in Japan, Oh is a citizen of the Republic of China. This is because his father chose to keep his original citizenship.

Oh's Baseball Career

Playing in High School

Oh became a star pitcher for his high school team, Waseda Jitsugyo High School. In 1957, his team made it to the Spring Koshien Tournament. Oh was only in his second year. Before the tournament, Oh got bad blisters on his pitching fingers.

Even with the pain, Oh pitched every game. He helped his team win the championship. He pitched four complete games in four days to win the title.

Becoming a Professional Player

In 1959, Oh signed his first professional contract with the Yomiuri Giants. He started as a pitcher. However, he soon switched to playing first base. He worked very hard with coach Hiroshi Arakawa to improve his hitting. This is when he developed his famous "flamingo" leg kick.

His batting average went from .161 in his first year to .270 in 1960. His home runs also more than doubled. In 1962, he really shined, hitting 38 home runs.

In 1964, Oh hit 55 home runs. This was a single-season record that he held for 37 years. It was tied by Tuffy Rhodes in 2001. Oh hit more than 50 home runs in a season two other times, in 1973 and 1977.

Oh became friends with Hank Aaron, a famous baseball player from Major League Baseball. They had a home run derby in 1974. Aaron won, 10–9.

Oh's hitting was even better because he often batted third in the Giants' lineup. Another strong hitter, Shigeo Nagashima, batted fourth. Together, they were known as the "O-N Cannon."

Sadaharu Oh stopped playing in 1980 when he was 40 years old. He had 2,786 hits, 2,170 RBIs, a lifetime batting average of .301, and 868 home runs.

Oh's Managing Career

Sadaharu Oh was an assistant manager for the Yomiuri Giants from 1981 to 1983. He then became the manager of the Yomiuri Giants from 1984 to 1988. He led the Giants to win the Central League in 1987.

In 1995, he returned to baseball as the manager of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (now the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks). Oh led the Hawks to win the Pacific League three times (1999, 2000, and 2003). They also won two Japan Series titles in 1999 and 2003.

In 2006, Oh managed the Japan national baseball team. They won the first-ever 2006 World Baseball Classic championship.

In July 2006, Oh took a break from the Hawks to have surgery for a stomach issue. The surgery was successful, and he returned to coaching. He retired as manager at the end of the 2008 season. Since then, he has worked in a front office role for the Hawks.

Sadaharu Oh's Personal Life

Oh was married to Kyoko Oh. They had three daughters together. His wife passed away in 2001. Their second daughter, Rie, born in 1970, is a sportscaster.

Other Interesting Facts About Sadaharu Oh

• In 1988, Oh and Hank Aaron started the World Children's Baseball Fair (WCBF). This group helps make baseball more popular by working with young players.
• On December 4, 2007, Oh said that he believes his career record of 868 home runs will be broken one day. He thought Alex Rodriguez might do it. (Rodriguez retired with 696 home runs.)
• In 2002 and 2005, the President of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian, named him an Ambassador-at-Large for the Republic of China.
• On February 5, 2009, President Ma Ying-Jeou gave Sadaharu Oh the "Order of Brilliant Star" award in Taipei. Oh said it was "The highest honor of his life."
• During the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo (which happened in 2021), he was one of the people who carried the torch in the stadium.

Statistics

Images for kids

• 

  A robot for kids

See also

A robot for kids

In Spanish: Sadaharu Oh para niños