BASEBALL PLAYERS from Japan

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Japanese Baseball Players of all time. This list of famous Japanese Baseball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Sadaharu Oh (1940 - )

With an HPI of 56.06, Sadaharu Oh is the most famous Japanese Baseball Player.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages on wikipedia.

Sadaharu Oh (Japanese: 王貞治, Ō Sadaharu; born May 20, 1940), also known as Wang Chen-chih (Chinese: 王貞治; pinyin: Wáng Zhēnzhì), is a Japanese-born former professional baseball player and manager who is currently the chairman of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Oh's playing career spanned across four decades, during which he only played with the Yomiuri Giants. He holds the world career home run record at 868, over 100 more than MLB record holder Barry Bonds. Oh batted and threw left-handed and primarily played first base. Originally signed with the powerhouse Giants in 1959 as a pitcher, Oh was soon converted to a full-time hitter. Under the tutelage of coach Hiroshi Arakawa, Oh developed his distinctive "flamingo" leg kick. It took Oh three years to blossom, but he went on to dominate the baseball league in Japan. He was a 15-time home run champion and was named to the All-Star team 18 times. More than just a power hitter, Oh was a five-time batting champion and won the Japanese Central League's batting triple crown twice. With Oh at first base, the Yomiuri Giants won 11 Japan Series championships. Oh was named the Central League's Most Valuable Player nine times. In addition to the world career home run record, Oh set many other NPB batting records, including 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 single-season home run record with 55, until Wladimir Balentien broke the record in 2013. In 1977, Oh became the first recipient of the People's Honour Award. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994. After retiring as a player, Oh served as the Giants' manager from 1984 to 1988. He also managed the Fukuoka Daiei/Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks from 1995 to 2008. He was the manager of the Japanese national team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, which defeated Cuba for the championship. He is currently the chairman of the Hawks.

2. Ichiro Suzuki (1973 - )

With an HPI of 50.07, Ichiro Suzuki is the 2nd most famous Japanese Baseball Player.  His biography has been translated into 51 different languages.

Ichiro Suzuki (鈴木 一朗, Suzuki Ichirō, born 22 October 1973), also known mononymously as Ichiro (イチロー, Ichirō), is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played professionally for 28 seasons. He played the first nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the next 12 years with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). Suzuki then played two and a half seasons with the New York Yankees and three with the Miami Marlins before returning to the Mariners for his final two seasons. He won two World Baseball Classic titles as part of the Japanese national team. He also became the Mariners' special assistant to the chairman in 2019. He is regarded as one of the greatest contact hitters and defensive outfielders in baseball history. In his combined playing time in the NPB and MLB, Suzuki received 17 consecutive selections both as an All-Star and Gold Glove winner, won nine league batting titles, and was named most valuable player (MVP) four times. In the NPB, he won seven consecutive batting titles and three consecutive Pacific League MVP Awards. In 2001, Suzuki became the first Japanese-born position player to be posted and signed to an MLB club. He led the American League (AL) in batting average and stolen bases en route to being named AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP. Suzuki was the first MLB player to enter the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (The Golden Players Club). He was a ten-time MLB All-Star and won the 2007 All-Star Game MVP Award for a three-hit performance that included the event's first-ever inside-the-park home run. Suzuki won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award in each of his first 10 years in the majors and had an American League–record seven hitting streaks of 20 or more games, with a high of 27. He was also noted for the longevity of his career, continuing to produce at a high level with slugging, and on-base percentages above .300 in 2016, while approaching 43 years of age. Suzuki also set a number of batting records, including MLB's single-season record for hits with 262. He achieved 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons, the longest streak by any player in history. In 2016, Suzuki notched the 3,000th hit of his MLB career, becoming only the 30th player ever to do so. In total, he finished with 4,367 hits in his professional career across Japan and the United States, the most of any player in history at the top level of baseball.

3. Daisuke Matsuzaka (1980 - )

With an HPI of 39.91, Daisuke Matsuzaka is the 3rd most famous Japanese Baseball Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (松坂 大輔, Matsuzaka Daisuke, [matsɯꜜzaka daꜜisɯ̥ke]; born September 13, 1980) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher, who pitched professionally for 23 seasons, 16 of them in NPB, 7 in MLB. He is currently a baseball color commentator, critic, reporter, and YouTuber. Daisuke is nicknamed "the Monster of the Heisei Era" (平成の怪物, heisei no kaibutsu) in Japan and "Dice-K" in the United States by The Boston Globe and USA Today. He played for the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Saitama Seibu Lions, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Matsuzaka was selected the MVP of the inaugural and the second World Baseball Classic, and is an Olympic bronze medalist. He is the first player to have won both a World Series and a World Baseball Classic, winning the 2006 World Baseball Classic with Team Japan and the 2007 World Series with the Red Sox.

4. Shohei Ohtani (1994 - )

With an HPI of 38.62, Shohei Ohtani is the 4th most famous Japanese Baseball Player.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Shohei Ohtani (大谷 翔平, Ōtani Shōhei, [oːtanʲi ɕoːheː]; born July 5, 1994) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher and designated hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Shotime", he has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Because of his elite contributions both as a hitter and as a pitcher, a rarity for two-way players, Ohtani's peak is widely considered among the greatest in baseball history, with some comparing it favorably to the early career of Babe Ruth. Considered early on as an elite two-way player, Ohtani was the first pick of the Fighters in the 2012 draft. He played in NPB for the Fighters from 2013 through 2017 as a pitcher and an outfielder, and won the 2016 Japan Series with them. The Fighters posted Ohtani to MLB after the 2017 season, and he signed with the Angels, soon winning the 2018 American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award. Following an injury-plagued 2019 and 2020, Ohtani had a 2021 season widely considered to be historic. He became the first in the history of MLB with 10+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases as a hitter and 100+ strikeouts and 10+ pitching appearances as a pitcher in the same season. He also holds at least a share of the major league lead in home runs in 14 starts. For his efforts, he was awarded the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player Award. He followed this in 2022 by becoming the first player in the modern era to qualify for both the hitting and pitching leaderboards in one season, reaching the thresholds of 3.1 plate appearances and one inning pitched per game with 586 at-bats and 166 innings pitched. Ohtani completed yet another historic campaign in 2023, becoming the first player in MLB history with 10 wins and 40 home runs in a season, the first Japanese-born player to win a major league home run title, leading the American League with 44 home runs, the first player in MLB history to win MVP by unanimous vote twice and the first Japanese player to have the most popular Major League Baseball jersey sales. After the 2023 season, Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, the largest contract in professional sports history. Internationally, Ohtani represents Japan. At the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he won the MVP Award for the tournament following Japan's victory over the United States. The 2023 final was one of the most-watched baseball games in history, culminating with Ohtani striking out Angels teammate and USA captain Mike Trout on a full count, securing a 3–2 win and Japan's third title.

5. Koji Uehara (1975 - )

With an HPI of 37.13, Koji Uehara is the 5th most famous Japanese Baseball Player.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Koji Uehara (上原 浩治, Uehara Kōji, [ɯehara koːdʑi]; born April 3, 1975) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), as well as the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). A right-handed pitcher, Uehara has an MLB career strikeout rate of 10.7 K/9 innings and a walk rate of 1.5 BB/9 innings through the 2017 season. Through the 2017 season, his career 7.33 K/BB is the best in MLB history for a player with at least 100 innings pitched. Uehara won the 2013 ALCS MVP Award, and closed the final game of the 2013 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. With his World Series win, Uehara became one of sixteen players in history to have won both a World Series and a World Baseball Classic.

6. Yu Darvish (1986 - )

With an HPI of 36.76, Yu Darvish is the 6th most famous Japanese Baseball Player.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Faridun Yu Darvishsefat (ダルビッシュ・セファット・ファリード・有, Darubisshu Sefatto Farīdon Yū, born 16 August 1986), more commonly known as Yu Darvish (ダルビッシュ 有), is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Darvish has also played in MLB for the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. In international play, Darvish pitched in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 World Baseball Classic as a member of the Japan national baseball team. He was considered by many to be the best pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball prior to his arrival in Major League Baseball in 2012. In his first MLB season, Darvish finished third in the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year balloting. The next season, he finished second in the AL Cy Young Award vote as he led the Major Leagues in strikeouts with 277 and finished fourth in the AL in earned run average (ERA) at 2.83. On 6 April 2014, Darvish reached the 500-strikeout mark in fewer innings pitched than any starting pitcher in MLB history.