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Four players ended up indicted into East Asia Baseball’s Hall of Fame from the 1972 voting. The standout was pitcher Yutaro Tachibana as the lone first ballot selection, receiving 82.8%. The other three were all returners who only narrowly got beyond the required 66% to earn a spot. LF Chong-Chun Pak on his eighth attempt made it at 68.3%. 1B Ju-An Pak and SP Young-Gwon Shin both earned it on their fourth go at 68.0% and 67.2%, respectively. Just missing the cut above 50% were closer Hyeon-Jae Seo at 58.7% on his eighth attempt and SP Katsuya Watanabe at 57.0% in his debut. There were no players dropped after a tenth ballot in 1972.



Yutaro Tachibana – Pitcher – Yokohama Yellow Jackets – 82.8% First Ballot

Yutaro Tachibana was a 6’1’’, 185 pound right-handed pitcher from Ishioka, a city of around 70,000 people in the Ibaraki Prefecture of east central Japan. He was viewed as having very good movement with respectable stuff and above average control. Tachibana’s velocity peaked in the 94-96 range and he had a fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup. The slider and changeup were considered his most impressive pitches. He was viewed as an ironman with great durability, although his stamina was unremarkable and he very rarely threw complete games. Tachibana was very well liked in the clubhouse, considered a very smart and hard working player.

Tachibana attended Urawa Gakuin High School in Saitama and was one of the rare players selected straight out of high school. Yokohama was so enamored that they chose him second overall in the 1945 East Asia Baseball Draft. Tachibana played almost his entire pro career with the Yellow Jackets. He didn’t see the field in 1946 and only had 5.1 innings in 1947. He was used as a reliever in 1948 and 1949, then became a full-time starter in 1950 at age 22. In 1951, he began pitching for Japan in the World Baseball Championship. From 1951-64, he had 38 appearances and 13 starts in the WBC, posting a 11-3 record, 3.14 ERA, 123.1 innings, 137 strikeouts, and 2.5 WAR.

His second season in the rotation was the one that saw Tachibana emerge as an ace, posting 6.9 WAR and earning third in Pitcher of the Year voting. He finished second in 1955, but ultimately never won the award. In 1955, he had a league-best 2.05 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and 7.1 WAR. He led in ERA again in 1960 with a career best 1.96, although he typically didn’t get enough innings to be at the top of the rankings. Tachibana was consistently solid and helped the Yellow Jackets to a number of strong seasons, although they fell just consistently of the North Division title throughout the 1950s.

At age 33, Tachibana was traded for the 1961 season to Kobe in a five-player deal. He had one solid year with the Blaze and made his first playoff start. Tachibana became a free agent and returned home to Yokohama for the rest of his career. He remained quite effective into his 30s and finally got to see team success with the Yellow Jackets, who won the Japan League title in 1965 and 1966, falling in the EAB final both years to Pyongyang. A shoulder injury meant he only had one start in the 1965 playoffs.

1966 would be his final season and his weakest as a pro with only 1.3 WAR. He made four playoff starts in the run, but had a lousy 6.65 ERA in 23 innings. Yokohama opted not to re-sign him for 1967 and after going unsigned that year, Tachibana retired at age 40. He had no hard feelings against the Yellow Jackets and the franchise retired his #18 uniform in 1967.

Tachibana’s final stats: 230-179 record, 2.77 ERA, 3792 innings, 3611 strikeouts, 692 walks, 351/518 quality starts, FIP- of 80 and 85.2 WAR. He wasn’t the most dominant pitcher, but was reliably constant for the better part of two decades and a loyal company guy. This resonated with the Hall of Fame voters, giving Tachibana the first ballot honor at 82.8%.



Chong-Chun Pak – Left Field – Seoul Seahawks – 68.3% Eighth Ballot

Chong-Chun Pak was a 5’10’’, 200 pound right-handed hitting left fielder from Incheon, South Korea’s third most populous city. In his prime, Pak was a great contact hitter with terrific gap power and solid speed. He was great for stretching doubles into triples, leading the league in triples three times. Pak averaged around 20-30 doubles and 20-30 triples per year while also providing around 30 home runs. Pak was unremarkable in terms of drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He spent the vast majority of his defensive time in left field and was viewed as a delightfully average defender.

Pak attended went to Japan for college and played for Doshisha University in Kyoto, one of the most prestigious in the country. In 175 college games, he had 250 hits, 216 runs, 43 doubles, 36 triples, 50 home runs, 196 RBI, and 10.2 WAR. This made Pak the top prospect in the 1943 EAB Draft and he was the first overall pick by Seoul. He immediately was a starter for the Seahawks and won the 1944 Rookie of the Year. He had similar good numbers in years two and three and even won a Gold Glove in year four.

Pak’s fifth season is when he truly arrived, earning Korea League MVP and a Silver Slugger. He led in WAR, RBI, slugging, OPS, and total bases; and would lead those stats as well in 1949 and 1950. 1948 was the first-ever playoff berth for Seoul and they won the EAB Championship. Pak won MVP and Silver Slugger again in both 1949 and 1950, leading in runs and batting average in 1949 along with a career-best 9.9 WAR and 140 RBI. The Seahawks won the Korea title again in 1949 and 1951, although they fell in the EAB final both years to Sapporo. Pak was the KLCS MVP in 1949 and 1959 and in 30 playoff games with the Seahawks, he had 33 hits, 14 runs, 7 home runs, 18 RBI, and 1.0 WAR.

1948 marked the beginning of Pak playing for the South Korean national team in the World Baseball Championship. He’d be on the squad from 1948-59 even as he left EAB, posting 98 hits, 67 runs, 30 home runs, 68 RBI, and 3.1 WAR in 105 games. He led the tournament in RBI in 1949 as well. 1952 saw his fourth EAB Silver Slugger, despite missing two months to various injuries. This ultimately was the end of his time in Seoul which had 55.6 WAR total. Now age 31, Pak cashed in with MLB’s Minneapolis, joining the Moose for 1953 with a six-year, $444,000 contract.

Pak won a Silver Slugger in Minneapolis in 1954 and was very solid in his first two seasons, helping the Moose to a National Association Championship Series appearance in 1953. He was less elite in the following seasons, but was still a very solid starter in the lineup. In six seasons, Pak had 918 hits, 483 runs, 146 home runs, 502 RBI, a .289/.337/.511 slash and 24.9 WAR. When his contract ended, the now 37-year old returned to South Korea on a three-year, $242,000 deal with Changwon. His return season of 1959 was unimpressive and Pak retired at season’s end at age 38.

For his entire pro career, he had 2606 hits, 1341 runs, 403 home runs, 367 doubles, 304 triples, 1488 RBI, .300/.347/.552 slash, 152 wRC+ and 81.9 WAR; more than enough. However, his EAB totals were much lower with the six MLB seasons subtracted: 1688 hits, 858 runs, 242 doubles, 234 triples, 257 home runs, 986 RBI, a .307/.353/.576 slash and 57.0 WAR.

Everyone would agree his nine year Seoul run was elite with the Seahawks retiring his #20 uniform and he was essential in bringing the team its first success. But his overall numbers were at the bottom among Hall of Famers because he had only a decade in EAB, and many voters held that against him. Enough thought his run and what he would’ve done had he stayed was still plenty worthy, but Pak bounced around the ballot. He got as high as 64.0% in 1970, but fell as low as 43.6% the next year. His eighth attempt in 1972 saw a bump back up and pushed the three-time MVP to the hallowed grounds at 68.3%.



Ju-An Pak – First Baseman/Designated Hitter – Suwon Snappers – 68.0% First Ballot

Ju-An Pak was a 6’2’’, 195 pound right-handed first baseman from the South Korean metropolis of Daegu. He had one of the most bizarre profiles of any player and was the definition of the “three true outcomes.” Pak had incredible home run power, was solid at drawing walks, and had reliable gap power. However, Pak was a human windmill that led Korea in strikeouts in 13 different seasons. He was a generally below average contact hitter and had weak baserunning speed. Pak played about 60% at first base and the rest as a DH and was an absolutely abysmal defender. Despite his many drawbacks, he was a hard worker that stayed loyal.

Pak attended Woosung High School in Uiwang and was a high school draft selection, picked 17^th overall by Suwon in the 1942 EAB Draft. He spent his first three years under contract as a reserve roster guy, making his debut with 29 games in 1946. Pak became a full-time starter for the rest of his Snappers run when healthy. Suwon stunk his entire time there and never made it to the playoffs, but Pak’s dingers provided a reason to go the ballpark.

Pak won the 1947 Rookie of the Year with his first full season having 42 home runs and 93 RBI. Pak had 14 seasons with 40+ home runs and three with 50+, although he only led the league in 1951 with 53. His career high was 55 with a career-best 135 RBI in 1960. He won two Silver Sluggers, in his rookie year of 1947 and in 1952. Despite the homers, he was never an MVP finalist as his career-best WAR season was 5.0 in 1952. Pak racked up the strikeouts and was the league leader in 1947, 49, 50, and then from 1954-63.

Pak was rarely out of the lineup from injuries and never lost his power even into his late 30s. Fans got excited as he and Takashi Ishihara both seemed to have a shot at Byung-Oh Tan’s career homer record of 718. Ishihara retired in 1959 with 703. Pak passed him in his final season with Suwon, getting to 711.

The Snappers didn’t re-sign him though and Pak went to Goyang for 1963. At age 39, he had a career-worst .198 average and 232 strikeouts, but Pak still pounded 49 home runs, passing Tan and becoming EAB’s home run king. Even with that power, he had enough drawbacks that he went unsigned in 1964, retiring after the season at age 40. Pak wasn’t the home run king ling with Lei Meng passing him later in the decade and Young-Hwan Sha matching him at 760, but he stills sits tied for eighth on the all-time leaderboard as of 2037. He also is the all-time whiff king with 3493 strikeouts and remains EAB strikeout leader as of 2037; one of only two with 3000+.

The final stats for Pak: 2249 hits, 1440 runs, 393 doubles, 760 home runs, 1722 RBI, 843 walks, 3493 strikeouts (33.0% K rate), .235/.300/.524 slash, wRC+ of 126 and WAR 47.4. In theory, retiring as the home run king would make you a Hall of Fame lock, but even with his power, advanced stats said the copious strikeouts and terrible defense really diminished that value. That, no big accolades, and no playoff appearances with a bad franchise meant there were plenty of voters against his induction. By WAR, he’d have the lowest career total of any EAB hitter in the Hall. Pak’s first three attempts fell short, albeit by small margins with 58.5%, 63.4%, and 62.9%. The fourth ballot was the one that finally saw just enough of a boost to put Pak in just barely at 68.0%.



Young-Gwon “Nomad” Shin – Starting Pitcher – Daegu Diamondbacks – 67.2% Fourth Ballot

Young-Gwon Shin was a 6’0’’, 185 pound right-handed pitcher from Yeongcheon, a city of around 100,000 people in South Korea located 220 miles southeast of Seoul. Shin threw gas with an outstanding 99-101 mph fastball overpowering foes in his peak. His stuff was terrific with the steallar fastball, a great forkball, along with an alright slider and rarely-used changeup. His movement was merely above average with average-at-best control. Shin was also a well-rounded batter and saw sporadic two-way action as an occasional first baseman, designated hitter, or pinch hitter. Ultimately, injuries kept Shin from quite reaching the two-way potential of a guy like Tadasumi Tanabe.

Shin’s incredible potential was noticed though while he attended Masan High School in Changwon. In the 1946 EAB Draft, Daegu selected Shin first overall. He was kept on the reserve roster though until making his debut as a reliever in 1949 at age 21. Shin became a full-time starting pitcher in 1950 and finished third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 1951, leading Korea in strikeouts.

In 1952, Shin had an incredibly dominant season with a then-EAB record 380 strikeouts, posting the sixth EAB pitching Triple Crown with a 21-6 record, 2.08 ERA, and 11.8 WAR. This earned Shin Pitcher of the Year and a second place finish in MVP voting. The Diamondbacks also made the playoffs for the second straight year and got to the EAB final, falling to Chiba in the championship. Shin seemed on his way to similar success in 1953, which was the first year he got some use as a hitter; as the Korea League uses the DH. However, midseason he suffered a torn rotator cuff. This kept him out of the playoffs, although he earned a ring as Daegu went on to win it all.

Shin bounced back and nearly got another Triple Crown in 1954, posting a career-best 1.84 ERA and leading with 363 strikeouts and 11.4 WAR. He also made 72 starts as a batter worth 1.0 WAR, getting his second Pitcher of the Year and a third place in MVP voting. 1955 saw an impressive 21 strikeout game in April against Seongnam, but in May, he was injured for ten months with a partially torn UCL.

Again, he bounced back better than you’d expect and led in ERA for the third time and still posted 261 strikeouts in only 184.2 innings. 1956 also saw 73 games as a hitter and was by far his best offensive season with 3.5 WAR, 22 home runs, and 72 RBI. Shin got his second ring as Daegu won the EAB Championship and this time he got to play in the postseason run. In total in the playoffs, he had a 5-3 record in 10 starts with 104 strikeouts over 75 innings and 2.9 WAR. He also had 10 hits, 7 runs, 3 home runs, and 6 RBI in the 1956 title run. He was the LCS MVP and finished second in Pitcher of the Year.

Shin also pitched for South Korea from 1951-1960 in the World Baseball Championship and was rarely used as a hitter. He posted a 3.27 ERA in 104.2 innings with 164 strikeouts and 3.2 WAR. 1957 was his last year with Suwon and a torn rotator cuff in the summer ended his season prematurely. The Diamondbacks would eventually retire his #28 uniform for his efforts in helping them to their 1950s titles. Despite his injury issues, Shin was still incredibly electric when he was on. MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies were impressed and decided to sign the 30-year old to a seven-year, $667,000 contract starting in 1958.

The contract was cursed as only once did he even get halfway through a season without major setbacks. A hamstring strain, elbow inflammation, shoulder inflammation, and a torn flexor tendon meant that Shin had only 51 starts over four-and-a-half seasons in Philadelphia. Despite the big money, the Phillies finally cut him in summer 1962. Shin went to Australia with OBA’s Sydney, but only pitched 22 innings before he suffered another torn flexor tendon. Yongin gave him a chance in 1963 although his arm was fried, struggling in his one appearance on the mound, although his bat was good in 14 games. Minor League Quebec City gave him a brief look in 1964, but Shin ultimately retired after that season at age 36.

Shin’s final EAB pitching stats: 116-48, 2.44 ERA, 1529.2 innings, 2133 strikeouts, 385 walks, 134/191 quality starts, a FIP- of 59, and 55.7 WAR. In 244 EAB games as a hitter, he had a career .311/.362/.558 slash with 10.7 WAR, 56 home runs, 277 hits, 152 runs, and 182 RBI. Shin was one of EAB’s all-time “what ifs?” and many from the era say he had the best fastball they’d ever seen. His pitching numbers are great in a small sample size, but his totals are at the very bottom of leaderboards due to a very short peak. That peak was remarkable though and he was a huge part of Daegu’s dynasty run, leading many voters to favor his candidacy even if the overall numbers are way lower than you’d expect. The batting value and the potential was just enough to get him close on the first three tries, above 60% each time. He was one percent short at 65.2% in 1971, then got the bump needed to make it on the fourth try at 67.2%.