Sadaharu Oh Hits First Career Home Run

The greatest home run hitter in the history of baseball, Japanese legend Sadaharu Oh hit the first home run of his storied career on this day in 1959.

Babe Ruth. Hank Aaron. Barry Bonds. These players are considered to be the home run kings, the only three to have eclipsed the 700 home run threshold. However, that exclusive club has one other member, Japanese power hitter Sadaharu Oh, who outpaced all three in his career.

It was on this day in 1959 that Oh began his journey to being the greatest power hitter that the game of baseball ever saw. Oh hit his first home run in Nippon Professional Baseball, en route to hitting a professional record 868 home runs. He also held the record for home runs in a season in Japan, hitting 55 home runs in 1964, the first of three seasons he would hit fifty or more home runs.

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Yet, Oh was not an instant success in the NPB. He actually struggled in his rookie year, hitting at a .161/.262/.316 clip with only seven home runs. It took a complete overhaul of his batting stance and mindset by batting coach Hiroshi Arakawa, who taught him zen and trailed Oh like a samurai in order to allow him to untap his potential. Arakawa also taught Oh the flamingo kick that he had when swinging a bat, giving him a distinctive swing.

That change made Oh one of the more feared sluggers in history. He would never hit under thirty home runs in a season again, and in 13 of his next 15 seasons, Oh would hit 40+ homers. After hitting his 700th career home run, he even got to face off against Hank Aaron in a home run hitting contest, one that Aaron won by a 10-9 score.

Next: Top 100 players in MLB history (60-51)

Sadaharu Oh was one of the best power hitters ever to play baseball. While it took a couple of years for his career to get on track, Oh began his journey to being the greatest home run hitter in history on this day, hitting his first home run.