Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame

The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, commonly known outside of Japan as the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, is a hall of fame and museum in Tokyo dedicated to professional baseball, with a prominent focus on professional baseball in Japan. The Hall is intended to honor and commemorate inducted players, executives, umpires, and other individuals who developed and/or made a significant impact towards the sport of baseball in Japan.

WWW baseball-museum.or.jp/bas...

History

The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame was established in 1959. They inducted nine members in the first class. It was originally located next door to Korakuen Stadium, then-home for the Tokyo Giants and Kokutetsu Swallows of the Central League and the Mainichi Orions of the Pacific League. Following the closure of Korakuen Stadium in 1988, the Hall moved to its current location within the Tokyo Dome, the stadium built as Korakuen's successor and the Giants' subsequent home.
Individuals are primarily inducted as members of the Japanese Baseball Hall after gaining at least 75% of votes on a ballot of players or expert voters. The Hall's special committee is also able to elect and induct other individuals deemed to have a notable connection to the sport, such as composer Yuji Koseki, who was inducted in 2023 for his creation of the Hanshin Tigers cheer song "Rokko Oroshi."

The museum

The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame's museum depicts numerous artifacts and moments from Japanese baseball history, ranging from uniforms of each team, that has played in the Central and Pacific Leagues, in addition to American baseball memorabilia, such as that of Ken Griffey Jr. and Babe Ruth. The uniform of Sadaharu Oh alongside the home run bats and balls in his career, most notably the bat for his 800th home run, are also on display.
As of 2024, days of operation for the museum were Tuesday through Sunday for most weeks, with Mondays only being open during spring and summer school vacations, national holidays that fell on the day or games when the Yomiuri Giants play at the Tokyo Dome. Operating hours are 10am until 5pm, with Giants games extending the time to 6pm. Admission costs are 600 yen per adult, 400 yen for students over 15, 200 yen for students 15 or under and 400 yen for people aged 65 or older.

Key

P	Pitcher
C	Catcher
1B	First baseman
2B	Second baseman
3B	Third baseman
SS	Shortstop
LF	Left fielder
CF	Center fielder
RF	Right fielder
DH	Designated hitter

List of inductees

#	Year	Induction method	Name	Place of Birth	Achievements
1	1959	Special	Matsutaro Shoriki	Toyama Prefecture	Popularized professional baseball in Japan; owner of Yomiuri Shimbun that organized a Japanese baseball All-Star team in 1934 to face an American All-Star team; went professional with his group that eventually became known as the Yomiuri Giants; chairman of the board of directors of the Japan Baseball Federation; Matsutaro Shoriki Award named in his honor in 1977 for contributions to baseball
2	1959	Special	Hiraoka Hiroshi	Tokyo	Founder of the first all-Japanese club with Shinbashi Athletic Club in 1878.
3	1959	Special	Yokio Aoi	Tochigi Prefecture	Top pitcher for Daiichi High School baseball team in 1896, later coached amateur players while translating baseball rules into Japanese
4	1959	Special	Abe Isoo	Fukuoka Prefecture	"Father of Japanese baseball"; founded baseball club at Waseda University in 1901
5	1959	Special	Shin Hashido	Tokyo	Star captain of Waseda University baseball team in 1900s; planned and promoted Intercity baseball tournament
6	1959	Special	Kiyoshi Oshikawa	Miyagi Prefecture	Star player at Waseba University in 1900s before participating in first tour of the U.S. by Japanese team in 1905; founded professional team with Nihon Athletic Association in 1920
7	1959	Special	Jiro Kuji	Iwate Prefecture	Star pitcher at Waseda University; played for team of Japanese star players in 1934 Japan Tour versus American talent
8	1959	Special	Eiji Sawamura	Mie Prefecture	Star pitcher for Tokyo Kyojin who pitched three no-hitters, was named first MVP of the league in 1937 spring season; killed in action in 1944 at the age of 27; award named in his honor since 1947 for best pitcher in Japanese baseball
9	1959	Special	Michimaro Ono	Kanagawa Prefecture	Star for Keio University, Mita Club, and Osaka Mainichi Baseball Team; first Japanese pitcher to defeat a team of American All-Stars on November 19, 1922 before becoming a sports reporter in his later years
10	1960	Competitors	Victor Starffin	Nizhny Tagil, Russian Empire	Star pitcher for Tokyo Kyojin, Pacific/Taiyo Robins, Kinsei / Daiei Stars, Takahashi / Tombow Unions ; 2-time JBL MVP, won a league record 42 games in 1939; career record of 303–176 with a record 83 shutouts made him first 300-game winner in Japanese baseball
11	1960	Special	Atsushi Kono	Nagano Prefecture	Star pitcher at Waseda University in early 1900s that served as pioneer to modern pitching techniques
12	1960	Special	Yaichiro Sakurai	Ibaraki Prefecture	Star pitcher and slugger at Keio University that served as president of the Mita Club
13	1960	Special	Chujun Tobita	Ishikawa Prefecture	Second baseman and coach for Waseda University that also served as influential presence in amateur baseball as writer and columnist
14	1962	Competitors	Yutaka Ikeda	Tokyo
15	1962	Special	Tadao Ichioka	Nagano Prefecture
16	1963	Competitors	Haruyasu Nakajima	Nagano Prefecture
17	1964	Competitors	Tadashi Wakabayashi	Wahiawa, Hawaii Territory
18	1964	Special	Kiyoshi Miyahara	Nagano Prefecture
19	1965	Competitors	Tetsuharu Kawakami	Kumamoto Prefecture
20	1965	Competitors	Kazuto Tsuruoka	Hiroshima Prefecture
21	1965	Special	Nobori Inoue	Chiba Prefecture
22	1965	Special	Saburo Miyatake	Kagawa Prefecture
23	1965	Special	Masaru Kageura	Ehime Prefecture
24	1966	Special	Tsunetaro Moriyama	Tokyo
25	1967	Special	Hisashi Koshimoto	Hawaii	Head coach of Keidai University that won seven Tokyo Big6 Baseball League championships
26	1968	Special	Sotaro Suzuki	Gunma Prefecture
27	1968	Special	Munehide Tanabe	Yamanashi Prefecture
28	1968	Special	Ichizō Kobayashi	Yamanashi Prefecture
29	1969	Competitors	Hisanori Karita	Kanagawa Prefecture
30	1969	Special	Daisuke Miyake	Tokyo
31	1969	Special	Takeo Tabe	Hiroshima Prefecture
32	1969	Special	Jiro Morioka	Nara Prefecture
33	1969	Special	Zensuke Shimada	Tochigi Prefecture
34	1969	Special	Yoriyasu Arima	Tokyo
35	1970	Competitors	Shunichi Amachi	Hyogo Prefecture
36	1970	Competitors	Nobuaki Nidegawa	Hyogo Prefecture
37	1970	Special	Komajiro Tamura	Osaka Prefecture
38	1970	Special	Matsutaro Naoki	Kyoto Prefecture
39	1970	Special	Kanoe Chuma	Kagoshima Prefecture
40	1971	Special	Tokuro Konishi	Tokyo
41	1971	Special	Rihachi Mizuno	Gifu Prefecture
42	1972	Competitors	Shuichi Ishimoto	Hiroshima Prefecture
43	1972	Special	Takeji Nakano	Tokyo
44	1972	Special	Shigeru Ohta	Kagawa Prefecture
45	1973	Special	Kohzo Utsumi	Kanagawa Prefecture
46	1973	Special	Teiyu Amano	Kanagawa Prefecture
47	1973	Special	Kenzo Hirose	Aichi Prefecture
48	1974	Competitors	Sadayoshi Fujimoto	Hiroshima Prefecture
49	1974	Competitors	Fumio Fujimura	Ehime Prefecture
50	1974	Special	Seizo Noda	Hyogo Prefecture
51	1976	Competitors	Hideo Fujimoto	Busan, Korea
52	1976	Special	Shinzo Koizumi	Tokyo
53	1977	Competitors	Shigeru Mizuhara	Kagawa Prefecture
54	1977	Competitors	Michio Nishizawa	Tokyo
55	1977	Special	Shigeo Mori	Ehime Prefecture
56	1977	Special	Yukio Nishimura	Mie Prefecture
57	1978	Competitors	Kenjiro Matsuki	Fukui Prefecture
58	1978	Competitors	Shinji Hamazaki	Hiroshima Prefecture
59	1978	Special	Yasuhiro Itami	Kagawa Prefecture
60	1978	Special	Masaki Yoshihara	Kumamoto Prefecture
61	1978	Special	Okada Genzaburo	Tokyo
62	1979	Competitors	Takehiko Bessho	Hyogo Prefecture
63	1979	Special	Ryozo Hiranuma	Kanagawa Prefecture
64	1979	Special	Goro Taniguchi	Saga Prefecture
65	1980	Competitors	Hiroshi Ohshita	Hyogo Prefecture
66	1980	Competitors	Makoto Kozuru	Fukuoka Prefecture
67	1980	Special	Shigeru Chiba	Ehime Prefecture
68	1981	Competitors	Tokuji Iida	Kanagawa Prefecture
69	1981	Competitors	Yoshiyuki Iwamoto	Hiroshima Prefecture
70	1981	Special	Tatsuo Saeki	Hyogo Prefecture
71	1981	Special	Shotaro Ogawa	Wakayama Prefecture
72	1982	Special	Ryuji Suzuki	Tokyo
73	1982	Special	Mojuro Tonooka	Shizuoka Prefecture
74	1983	Competitors	Osamu Mihara	Kagawa Prefecture
75	1983	Special	Uchimura Yushi	Tokyo
76	1984	Special	Shinji Kirihara	Osaka Prefecture
77	1985	Competitors	Shigeru Sugishita	Tokyo
78	1985	Competitors	Katsumi Shiraishi	Ehime Prefecture
79	1985	Competitors	Atsushi Aramaki	Oita Prefecture
80	1985	Special	Katsuo Tanaka	Osaka Prefecture
81	1985	Special	Ikushi Yamanouchi	Shimane Prefecture
82	1986	Special	Miyoshi Nakagawa	Tottori Prefecture
83	1986	Special	Masao Matsukata	Kagoshima Prefecture
84	1987	Special	Nobuo Fujita	Tianjin, China	Manager of Hosei University baseball team that won Tokyo Big6 Baseball League four times
85	1987	Special	Minoru Yamashita	Hyogo Prefecture	Star slugger at Keio University; played professional baseball for Hankyu, Nagoya before becoming umpire
86	1988	Competitors	Shigeo Nagashima	Chiba Prefecture	Third baseman for Yomiuri Giants ; 444 HR, 2,471 hits, 1,522 RBIs as player; named to the Best Nine Award in all 17 seasons played, five-time Central League MVP, 4-time Japan Series MVP, CL Rookie of the Year, 11-time Japan Series champion
87	1988	Competitors	Kaoru Betto	Osaka Prefecture
88	1988	Competitors	Yukio Nishimoto	Wakayama Prefecture
89	1988	Competitors	Masaichi Kaneda	Aichi Prefecture
90	1988	Special	Saburo Yokozawa	Taipei, Taiwan
91	1988	Special	Takeo Akuta	Hyogo Prefecture
92	1988	Special	Masaichi Nagata	Kyoto Prefecture
93	1989	Competitors	Hidenosuke Shima	Hyogo Prefecture
94	1989	Competitors	Katsuya Nomura	Kyoto Prefecture	Catcher for Nankai Hawks, Lotte Orions, Seibu Lions ; 2,901 hits, 657 HR, 1,988 RBIs,.277 BA; five-time Pacific League MVP, 19-time Best Nine Award, 9-time PL home run leader, 1965 Triple Crown, 2-time Japan Series champion
95	1989	Competitors	Jiro Noguchi	Aichi Prefecture
96	1989	Special	Tsuneo Ikeda	Niigata Prefecture	Writer and chief editor for Baseball World in the 1930s before establishing Baseball Magazine in 1940s
97	1989	Special	Masao Date	Osaka Prefecture
98	1990	Competitors	Juzo Sanada	Wakayama Prefecture
99	1990	Competitors	Isao Harimoto	Hiroshima Prefecture
100	1990	Special	Isamu Saeki	Ehime Prefecture
101	1991	Competitors	Shigeru Makino	Kagawa Prefecture
102	1991	Competitors	Osamu Tsutsui	Kagawa Prefecture
103	1991	Competitors	Kichiro Shimaoka	Nagano Prefecture
104	1991	Special	Yoshio Nakazawa	Tokyo
105	1992	Competitors	Tatsuro Hirooka	Hiroshima Prefecture
106	1992	Competitors	Tsubouchi Michinori	Ehime Prefecture
107	1992	Competitors	Yoshio Yoshida	Kyoto Prefecture
108	1992	Special	Masao Yoshida	Aichi Prefecture	Star pitcher in the National High School Baseball Championship between 1931 and 1933 that won 14 stragiht games at Koshien Stadium; first pitcher to win three consecutive championships; later served as outfielder at Meiji University, amateur pitcher for Fujikura Electric Wire and then sports reporter
109	1993	Competitors	Kazuhisa Inao	Oita Prefecture
110	1993	Competitors	Minoru Murayama	Hyogo Prefecture
111	1994	Competitors	Sadaharu Oh	Tokyo	Player for Yomiuri Giants ; hit world record 868 home runs to go with NPB record for OPS and runs ; won Central League MVP nine times, Best Nine Award at first base 18 times; 11-time Japan Series champion
112	1994	Competitors	Wally Yonamine	Olowalu, Hawaii Territory	Outfielder for Yomiuri Giants, Chunichi Dragons who hit.311; Central League MVP, 8-time All-Star, 7-time Best Nine Award, 4-time Japan Series champion
113	1994	Special	Tomoo Hirooka	Osaka Prefecture
114	1995	Competitors	Tadashi Sugiura	Aichi Prefecture
115	1995	Competitors	Tokichiro Ishii	Ibaraki Prefecture
116	1995	Special	Shosei Go	Tainan City, Taiwan
117	1995	Special	Minoru Murakami	Osaka Prefecture
118	1996	Competitors	Motoshi Fujita	Ehime Prefecture
119	1996	Competitors	Sachio Kinugasa	Kyoto Prefecture
120	1996	Special	Naotaka Makino	Kagoshima Prefecture
121	1996	Special	Makoto Hosaka	Manchuria, China
122	1997	Competitors	Katsuo Osugi	Okayama Prefecture
123	1997	Special	Eiichiro Yamamoto	Okayama Prefecture
124	1998	Special	Hiroshi Nakao	Mie Prefecture
125	1998	Special	Shinjiro Iguchi	Wakayama Prefecture
126	1999	Competitors	Futoshi Nakanishi	Kagawa Prefecture
127	1999	Competitors	Yoshinori Hirose	Hiroshima Prefecture
128	1999	Competitors	Takeshi Koba	Kumamoto Prefecture
129	1999	Competitors	Sadao Kondoh	Aichi Prefecture
130	1999	Special	Ichiro Yoshikuni	Kanagawa Prefecture	Commissioner of Nippon Professional Baseball from 1989 to 1998
131	2000	Competitors	Shintaro Fukushima	Tottori Prefecture
132	2000	Special	Tetsuya Yoneda	Tokyo
133	2001	Competitors	Rikuo Nemoto	Ibaraki Prefecture
134	2001	Competitors	Masaaki Koyama	Hyogo Prefecture
135	2001	Special	Tsutomu Takeda	Hiroshima Prefecture
136	2001	Special	Ryohei Hasegawa	Aichi Prefecture
137	2002	Competitors	Kazuhiro Yamauchi	Aichi Prefecture
138	2002	Competitors	Keishi Suzuki	Hyogo Prefecture
139	2002	Competitors	Yutaka Fukumoto	Osaka Prefecture
140	2002	Competitors	Kenjiro Tamiya	Ibaraki Prefecture
141	2002	Special	Fujio Nakazawa	Shiga Prefecture
142	2002	New Century Committee	Ikuhara Akihiro	Fukuoka Prefecture
143	2002	New Century Committee	Lefty O'Doul	California, U.S.	Served as goodwill ambassador for baseball that spread its popularity in Japan
144	2002	Special	Masaoka Shiki	Ehime Prefecture
145	2003	Competitors	Toshiharu Ueda	Tokushima Prefecture
146	2003	Competitors	Junzo Sekine	Tokyo
147	2003	Special	Kohei Matsuda	Hiroshima Prefecture
148	2003	New Century Committee	Horace Wilson	Goram, Maine, U.S.	Often called one of people credited with introducing the sport of baseball to Japan in 1870s
149	2003	Special	Sakae Suzuka	Kyoto Prefecture
150	2004	Competitors	Akira Ohgi	Fukuoka Prefecture
151	2004	Special	Noboru Akiyama	Okayama Prefecture
152	2005	Competitors	Choji Murata	Hiroshima Prefecture
153	2005	Competitors	Masaaki Mori	Gifu Prefecture
154	2005	Special	Masayori Shimura	Tokyo Prefecture
155	2006	Competitors	Hiromitsu Kadota	Yamaguchi Prefecture
156	2006	Competitors	Morimichi Takagi	Aichi Prefecture
157	2006	Competitors	Hisashi Yamada	Akita Prefecture
158	2006	Special	Hiromori Kawashima	Fukushima Prefecture	Commissioner of Nippon Professional Baseball from 1998 to 2004; signed agreement with Major League Baseball for "posting system" involving players wishing to negotiate between leagues
159	2006	Special	Yasumitsu Toyoda	Ibaraki Prefecture
160	2007	Competitors	Takao Kajimoto	Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture
161	2007	Special	Reiichi Matsunaka	Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture
162	2008	Competitors	Tsuneo Horiuchi	Hiroshima Prefecture
163	2008	Competitors	Seiichi Shima	Yamanashi Prefecture
164	2008	Special	Koji Yamamoto	Wakayama Prefecture
165	2009	Competitors	Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Hokkaido
166	2009	Competitors	Noboru Aota	Hyogo Prefecture
167	2009	Special	Ichiro Kimishima	Kagawa Prefecture
168	2009	Special	Yoshinori Okoso	Tochigi Prefecture
169	2010	Competitors	Osamu Higashio	Wakayama Prefecture
170	2010	Competitors	Shinichi Eto	Kumamoto Prefecture
171	2010	Special	Masayuki Furuta	Kumamoto Prefecture
172	2011	Competitors	Hiromitsu Ochiai	Akita Prefecture	Infielder/Outfielder for Lotte Orions, Chunichi Dragons, Yomiuri Giants, Nippon-Ham Fighters 510 HR,.311 BA, 2,371 hits, 1,564 RBI; 2-time Pacific League MVP ; won Best Nine Award ten times, winning ones at first base, second base, and third base; only Japanese player with three batting Triple Crowns; Japan Series champion as player and manager
173	2011	Competitors	Mutsuo Minagawa	Yamagata Prefecture
174	2012	Competitors	Tsunemi Tsuda	Kagoshima Prefecture
175	2012	Competitors	Manabu Kitabeppu	Yamaguchi Prefecture
176	2012	Special	Kiro Osafune	Okayama Prefecture
177	2012	Special	Osamu Omoto	Okayama Prefecture
178	2013	Competitors	Yutaka Ohno	Shimane Prefecture
179	2013	Competitors	Yoshiro Sotokoba	Kagoshima Prefecture
180	2013	Special	Kazuo Fukushima	Fukuoka Prefecture
181	2014	Competitors	Koji Akiyama	Osaka Prefecture
182	2014	Competitors	Hideo Nomo	Kumamoto Prefecture
183	2014	Competitors	Kazuhiro Sasaki	Miyagi Prefecture
184	2014	Special	Choichi Aida	Hokkaido
185	2015	Competitors	Atsuya Furuta	Hyogo Prefecture
186	2015	Special	Kazuo Hayashi	Tokyo
187	2015	Special	Ryohei Murayama	Mie Prefecture
188	2016	Competitors	Masaki Saito	Saitama Prefecture
189	2016	Competitors	Kimiyasu Kudō	Aichi Prefecture
190	2016	Competitors	Kihachi Enomoto	Tokyo
191	2016	Special	Takizo Matsumoto	Hiroshima Prefecture
192	2016	Special	Masatake Yamanaka	Oita Prefecture
193	2017	Competitors	Tsutomu Itō	Kumamoto Prefecture
194	2017	Competitors	Masaji Hiramatsu	Okayama Prefecture
195	2017	Competitors	Senichi Hoshino	Okayama Prefecture
196	2017	Special	Hiroshi Goshi	Hokkaido
197	2017	Special	Mirei Suzuki	Hyogo Prefecture
198	2018	Competitors	Hideki Matsui	Ishikawa Prefecture
199	2018	Competitors	Tomoaki Kanemoto	Hiroshima Prefecture
200	2018	Competitors	Tatsunori Hara	Kanagawa Prefecture
201	2018	Special	Masao Taki	Aichi Prefecture
202	2019	Competitors	Kazuyoshi Tatsunami	Osaka Prefecture
203	2019	Competitors	Hiroshi Gondoh	Saga Prefecture
204	2019	Special	Haruo Wakimura	Tokyo	former chairman of the Japan High School Baseball Federation
205	2020	Competitors	Kōichi Tabuchi	Tokyo	Star player for Hanshin Tigers and Seibu Lions who hit 474 home runs; 2-time Japan Series champion, 5-time Best Nine Award
206	2020	Special	Yukichi Maeda	Kochi Prefecture	Keio University coach, Secretary General of Baseball Federation of Asia ; three-time champion of Tokyo Big 6 League as player
207	2020	Special	Renzo Ishii	Ibaraki Prefecture	Longtime coach of Waseda University baseball; Active proponent of international baseball, most notably with Japan-USA Collegiate Baseball Championship Series
208	2021	Special	Katsuji Kawashima	Tochigi Prefecture
209	2021	Special	Kazuo Sayama	Wakayama Prefecture	Baseball historian and author of articles and books on baseball history
210	2022	Competitors	Masa Yamamoto	Hiroshima Prefecture
211	2022	Competitors	Shingo Takatsu	Kanagawa Prefecture
212	2022	Special	Shigeyoshi Matsumae	Kumamoto Prefecture	Chairman of Tokyo Metropolitan Area University Baseball League, active proponent of baseball being played at the 1988 Summer Olympics
213	2023	Competitors	Alex Ramírez	Venezuela
214	2023	Competitors	Randy Bass	Oklahoma, U.S.	Hanshin Tigers ; 2x Japanese Triple Crown, Central League MVP, Japan Series champion, 3x Best Nine Award ; his.389 season in 1986 remains the NPB record for one season
215	2023	Special	Yuji Koseki	Fukushima Prefecture
216	2024	Competitors	Hiroki Kuroda	Hiroshima Prefecture
217	2024	Competitors	Motonobu Tanishige	Osaka Prefecture
218	2024	Special	Tomoichi Tanimura	New York, U.S.	Umpire for 3,026 games in the Central League, which included umpiring the Japan Series eleven times
219	2025	Competitors	Ichiro Suzuki	Aichi Prefecture	Orix Blue Wave, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Miami Marlins, Seattle Mariners 17-time combined All-Star, 17-time combined Gold Glove, 7-time Best Nine Award, 3-time Silver Slugger Award, Matsutaro Shoriki Award, 9-time batting champion ; Japan Series champion ; 3-time Pacific League MVP; first Japanese player to have 4,000 professional career hits
220	2025	Competitors	Hitoki Iwase	Aichi Prefecture
221	2025	Competitors	Masayuki Kakefu	Chiba Prefecture
222	2025	Special	Hiroya Tomizawa	Tokyo	Umpire of Central League games for 35 years