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One player was added into the East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame with the 1956 class as first baseman Yu-Jin Kim got 91.3% of the vote on his first ballot. Two other players were above 50% in LF Bum-Young Ahn in his first attempt and SS Soo-Hyun Choo in his second attempt. No players were dropped after a 10^th ballot in 1956.



Yu-Jin Kim – First Baseman – Osaka Orange Sox – 91.3% First Ballot

Yu-Jin Kim was a 6’0’’, 195 pound right-handed first baseman from Kimchaek, a port city in the northeastern part of modern North Korea. Kim was known as a very good power hitter with solid contact skills and a great eye for drawing walks. Kim was a team captain renowned for his leadership skills and work ethic. He was a slow baserunner and did strike out more than average. He played exclusively at first base and was generally viewed as a below average to poor defender. Kim was also very durable and reliable, making 140+ starts in 13 seasons.

He was discovered as a teenage amateur by scouts from Osaka and headed to Japan, where he spent his entire pro career with the Orange Sox. He debuted in 1934 at age 20 and made a few appearances from the bench in his first three seasons, finally becoming a full-time starter in 1937. In his first year as a starter, he led Japan with 44 homers and had the top OBP and OPS. Kim would lead Japan in home runs three times, RBI three times, walks four times, runs twice, OBP five times, OPS four times, and WAR twice. He picked up Silver Sluggers in 1937, 38, 39, 44, 45, 46, and 47.

His first MVP honor came in 1939 with 51 home runs, 128 RBI, 106 runs, 69 walks, a 1.008 OPS, and 8.9 WAR; all league bests. He won it again in 1944 with 100 runs, 48 dingers, 110 RBI, a .958 OPS, and 9.1 WAR; again league bests. He was second in MVP voting in 1937, 1945, and 1947, continuing his excellence into his 30s. After struggling in the 1930s, Osaka became a contender from 1943-46, winning the Japan League title in 43 and 46 and the EAB title in 43. In the playoffs, Kim had 26 hits in 34 games with 17 runs, 8 homers, 10 RBI, and 1.0 WAR. After 12 straight seasons with 5.5+ WAR, his production began to fall at age 35 and 36. Kim opted to retire at age 37 after the 1950 season. In his twilight years, he did get to play four times for the newly christened North Korea in the World Baseball Championship from 1947-50.

The final stats for Kim; 2267 hits, 1198 runs, 309 doubles, 570 home runs, 1412 RBI, 941 walks, a .280/.357/.538 slash and 94.8 WAR. He was the fifth player to have reached 500 career homers and at retirement was sixth in career WAR among EAB hitters. He’d fall down the leaderboards in later years, but Kim was an elite power hitter of the late 1930s and 1940s and deserving of the first ballot nod at 91.3%.