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Two players were inducted with East Asia Baseball’s 1976 Hall of Fame voting. The star was pitcher Su-Yeong Myung on the first ballot with 95.7%. Joining him was second baseman Yoshio Hagesawa, who earned the big bump up to 81.0% on his second attempt. Only two others were above 50% with 2B Jung-Min Yi at 60.9# on his third try and 1B Kenzan Manabe at 56.1% in his debut.



No players were dropped after ten ballots in the 1976 voting. Notably falling below 5% on his eighth go was CF Hidemi Ishihara. In 20 years, he had four Silver Sluggers and four Gold Gloves with 2551 hits, 1302 runs, 334 doubles, 306 triples, 287 home runs, 1017 RBI, a .264/.303/.451 slash and 91.4 WAR. By WAR, he’s one of the all-time biggest snubs, but his lack of power stats and postseason notables meant he peaked at 25.3%.



Su-Yeong Myung – Pitcher – Kyoto Kamikaze – 95.7% First Ballot

Su-Yeong Myung was a 6’2’’, 190 pound right-handed pitcher from Seongnam, South Korea. In his prime, Myung overpowered hitters with excellent stuff, making up for merely average at best movement and control. He had 97-99 mph peak velocity and expertly mixed around a four pitch arsenal of fastball, curveball, splitter, and cutter. He also won a Silver Slugger in 1963 and was an alright hitter for a pitcher with a career .225 average, 212 hits, 64 runs, 7 home runs, and 79 RBI. Myung was durable and rarely had significant injuries, although his stamina was unremarkable and he had fewer complete games than most other aces.

Myung was signed as an amateur teenage free agent at age 16 with Kyoto and would spend his entire pro career with the Kamikaze. He made his debut at age 21 with 7.2 innings in 1955, Myung was a part-time starter in 1956, then a full member of the rotation afterward. In 1957, he led the Japan League with a 2.0 ERA and 28 quality starts, earning third in Pitcher of the Year voting.

It would be some time before he was considered for the top award again, but he put up good (but not amazing) production in his 20s for a then bottom rung Kyoto squad. In 1964 at age 30, he led in strikeouts for the first time in his career (304) and WAR (8.4), earning second in Pitcher of the Year voting. In 1967, he’d finally win the award with a career-best 1.85 ERA and 0.81 WHIP. Myung led in WAR again in 1968 and took second in voting.

Kyoto only made the playoffs twice in his tenure and fell in the JLCS in both seasons (1962, 1966). Myung’s postseason stats were unimpressive with a 4.91 ERA in 18.1 innings. He also pitched for South Korea in the World Baseball Championship from 1962-69, putting up better numbers with a 3.18 ERA in 99 innings, 139 strikeouts, and 2.9 WAR. A few smaller injuries hut him a bit in 1969 for his worst full-time year to that point. In 1970, Myung would be relegated to the bullpen with subpar stats, leading him to retire after the season at age 36. Kyoto still respected his service and retired his #25 uniform soon after.

Myung’s final stats: 211-128 record, 2.89 ERA, 3143 innings, 3599 strikeouts to 694 walks, 280/417 quality starts, FIP- of 79, and 72.3 WAR. He almost had a quietly good career, although the advanced stats put him more toward the middle or bottom of the Hall of Fame leaderboard. Still, the voters were plenty impressed with Myung’s resume and gave him a first ballot induction at 95.7%.



Yoshio “Ratbreath” Hagesawa – Infielder – Fukuoka Frogs – 81.0% Third Ballot

Yoshio Hagesawa was a 6’0’’, 185 pound right-handed infielder from Kanazawa, a city of around 460,000 people and the capital of Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture. Nicknamed “Ratbreath,” Hagesawa was a very solid contact hitter who still had a good pop in his bat, averaging around 25-30 home runs and 35-45 doubles/triples per year. His ability to draw walks and avoid strikeouts was merely average. Hagesawa was a pretty good baserunner and became a very popular player in his time. The majority of his starts were at second base, although he did have significant time at both first base and shortstop. Hagesawa was considered around average defensive at second, poor at shortstop, and above average at first. The versatility gave him extra value though.

Hagesawa attended Senshu University in metro Tokyo for his college career. He was a top prospect and was picked first overall in the 1951 East Asia Baseball Draft by Fukuoka. He was unable to come to terms with the Frogs and played one more year in college. Fukuoka came calling again with the second overall pick in 1952 and Hagesawa joined them, becoming a part time starter in 1953 that finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. A ruptured finger tendon kept him out half of 1954, but he’d make 144+ starts every year for the rest of his Frogs tenure.

Hagesawa led the Japan League in both hits (198) and runs (94) in 1955, earning second in MVP voting. That would be his only time as a MVP finalist. Hagesawa won four Silver Sluggers (1958, 59, 61, 63). In 1958, he led the league in hits (200) and WAR (9.6) and was the WARlord again in 1959 at 9.1. He had 11 seasons worth 5+ WAR in his career.

Hagesawa played for Japan in the World Baseball Championship from 1955-68, posting 120 games and 98 starts, 93 hits, 61 runs, 15 doubles, 28 home runs, 57 RBI, and 4.3 WAR. This would be his only postseason experience for much of his career, as Fukuoka generally stunk during his tenure. With the Frogs, he had 1504 hits, 698 runs, 243 doubles, 106 triples, 195 home runs, 701 RBI, a .317/.360/.536 slash and 58.4 WAR. The team would also eventually retire his #31 uniform.

Before the 1962 season, the 31-year old Hagesawa was traded to Kawasaki for three prospects. He spent the rest of his career with Kawasaki and still put up solid production when healthy. Injuries caught up to him in his 30s, including a torn meniscus that put him out five months in 1965. Hagesawa finally got to see playoff action in 1967 as the Killer Whales won the Japan League title. The next year, the 37-year old was relegated to a bench role for his final season. Hagesawa would go unsigned in 1969 and retire after that season at age 39. For his Kawasaki run, he had 844 hits, 451 runs, 130 doubles, 44 triples, 156 home runs, 453 RBI, a .293/.342/.532 slash and 31.5 WAR.

Hagesawa’s final stats: 2348 hits, 1149 runs, 373 doubles, 150 triples, 351 home runs, 1154 RBI, a .308/.353/.535 slash, wRC+ 169, and 89.9 WAR. A very solid resume, but the lack of major awards or playoff accolades hurt him with many voters. His first two ballots he fell short with 63.9% and 55.9%. Then in try #3 for 1976, enough voters saw the light to give Hagesawa the big boost up to 81.0%, putting him among the hallowed greats.