Sadaharu Oh and the world record for career home runs

For The Guardian, I produced a detailed biography of Sadaharu Oh, the greatest Japanese baseball player who ever lived.

Oh overcame racism, ridicule and criticism to hit 868 career home runs, a world record that may never be beaten. Despite never playing in Major League Baseball, I argue that Oh should be included in any debate of the best ballplayers of all-time.

You can read my full article here, delving back in time to the golden age of Tokyo basbeall. Learning to appreciate the most mystical figure in hardball history.

⚾⚾⚾

Related articles


Buy me a coffee

If you enjoyed this article, please consider leaving a digital tip. I do not believe in ads, subscriptions or paywalls, so please buy me a coffee to show your support. All contributions are greatly appreciated. Thank you.



Subscribe for free to receive all my writing straight to your inbox.

* indicates required

More from Ryan Ferguson

Why Ted Williams is frozen in a Scottsdale, Arizona, industrial park
How a baseball legend became a cryonics case study.
Read Now
Joe DiMaggio in Poland – May 1962
Retracing the long-lost footsteps of a baseball great.
Read Now
Diamondbacks’ Jay Bell once won a fan $1 million by hitting a grand slam
Gylene Hoyle, Arizona contests, and a fairytale home run.
Read Now
Tranmere once beat Liverpool and Everton on back-to-back days
Inside the chaotic mirage of wartime football.
Read Now
Marvin Park: From Tranmere Rovers youth to Real Madrid phenom
From Birkenhead to the Bernabéu, in search of lost treasure.
Read Now
21 random baseball facts I need to get out of my head
A Peter Gammons Sunday notes column crossed with a Baseball-Reference data leak.
Read Now
Justin Bieber and the Manchester Storm: An unlikely love affair
How a global popstar became synonymous with a British ice hockey team.
Read Now

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

Social Proof Experiments