Sadaharu Oh

Sadaharu Oh is a Japanese baseball legend who holds the professional world record for career home runs (868), set over 22 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants.

Sadaharu Oh hit 868 professional home runs — more than any player at any level of the sport — won nine MVP awards, led Japan's Central League in home runs 15 times, and powered the Yomiuri Giants to nine consecutive Japan Series titles from 1965 to 1973. He signed with the Yomiuri Giants in 1959 as a pitcher, but was quickly converted to a full-time hitter. Under coach Hiroshi Arakawa, Oh developed his distinctive one-legged "flamingo" batting stance, a technique built on principles drawn from aikido and Zen philosophy that helped him refine his balance and timing at the plate. It took him several seasons to fully harness the new approach, but from 1963 onward he became the most feared power hitter in Japanese baseball. Oh went on to lead the Central League in home runs 15 times, won nine MVP awards, and captured the Triple Crown in both 1974 and 1975. Playing alongside fellow superstar Shigeo Nagashima, the pair formed the legendary "O-N Cannon" that powered the Giants to nine consecutive Japan Series titles from 1965 to 1973 and 11 championships in total during his career. On September 3, 1977, Oh hit his 756th career home run, surpassing Hank Aaron's total to become the career home run leader among professional players worldwide — a record he extended to 868 by his retirement in 1980, still unmatched at any professional level. Beyond the power numbers, Oh set lasting NPB career records for RBIs (2,170), walks (2,390), and slugging plus on-base percentage (1.080), while batting .301 for his career. He received Japan's first-ever People's Honour Award in 1977 in recognition of his achievement. After retiring as a player, Oh managed the Yomiuri Giants from 1984 to 1988 and later the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, winning Japan Series titles as a manager in 1999 and 2003 and leading Japan to victory in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.

Left-handed power hitter renowned for the one-legged 'flamingo' stance and prodigious home-run power

Widely regarded as Japan's greatest hitter and one of the most iconic figures in baseball history worldwide

• World record 868 career home runs
• 9x NPB Central League MVP
• 2x Triple Crown (1974, 1975)
• 11x Japan Series champion
• 9x Gold Glove (Japan)
• Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (1994)
• First recipient of the People's Honour Award (1977)