Isao Harimoto, the baseball great who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and still holds Japan's hits record, has died at 86. The Golden Players Club, an organization for elite baseball players, said Harimoto died on Wednesday without specifying the cause of death.
Harimoto started his professional career in 1959 when he joined the then-Toei Flyers, who became the Nippon Ham Fighters. He was the first player in Japan to reach 3,000 hits, doing so in 1980, and finished his career with 3,085. He was nicknamed "Hit Machine." In his 23-year career he was an 18-time All-Star who hit 504 home runs and played 2,752 games. He retired in 1981 and was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.
Harimoto was rookie of the year in 1959 with 115 hits, made his first All-Star team in 1960, clinched his first batting title in 1961, and had his first 30-home run season in 1962, the year he won his only Japan Series. He joined Sadaharu Oh at the Yomiuri Giants in 1976 and moved to the Chiba Lotte Marines in 1980, where he reached 3,000 career hits and 500 home runs.
Harimoto was born to Korean parents in Hiroshima in 1940. At age four, severe burns to his right hand cost him most of its mobility. At age five he survived the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. His father died shortly after World War II, and his mother ran an eatery to support the family.
After retirement, Harimoto became a popular baseball commentator known for his straight talk and was also an anti-war and nuclear disarmament advocate.
