The Taiwan All-Star game against Major League players reminds one of a 1974 home run hitting contest that has been somewhat lost in baseball history between Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh and America’s newest champion Henry Aaron.
CBS television executive producer Frank Chirkinian arranged for the two home run kings to meet on November 1, 1974 at Tokyo, Japan’s Korakuen Stadium. He offered $50,000 to Aaron, 6 million yen ($20,000) to Oh and a silver bowl to the winner. The event was thought worthy enough for ‘Sports Illustrated’ to do a story on it.
Aaron came into the event with 733 home runs having made baseball history by breaking Babe Ruth’s record of 714 on April 8. Known as the Japanese Babe Ruth, Oh entered the contest with 634. Until Aaron broke Ruth’s record no one knew who Oh was, but that’s a story for another day.
Oh was 34 years old at the time of the contest. He was averaging 40 home runs a year. With Aaron at the end of his career (he had just played his last game with the Atlanta Braves before finishing up with the Milwaukee Brewers) it seemed just a matter of time before Oh surpassed him as the man with the most home runs in baseball history.
When asked whether Oh should be considered the home run king if he surpassed him Aaron said, ‘That would be totally unfounded. I don’t think there is any comparison between the home runs he hits here and the ones I hit in the states.’
His point was well founded. While Aaron hit in spacious major league parks Oh hit in smaller Japanese ones with lower fences. The fences down the left and right field lines at Karokuen Stadium were only 292 feet from home plate.
These dimensions would have altered baseball history if they had existed in the major leagues. Aaron, Ruth or any other major league slugger would have hit 10 to 20 more home runs a year.
The contest would consist of four innings of five fair balls apiece for a total of 20 swings. Oh would go first. After two at bats he held a 6-2 lead over Aaron. But Henry hit four of his next five out of the park to tie the score at 6. Oh hit one in the third set and Aaron countered with three to take a 9-7 lead. The contest to decide the greatest home run hitter in baseball history had come down to five swings.
Oh homered in his first swing to cut the lead to one then hit a ball down the right field line that looked foul. The Japanese umpire ruled fair, but National League umpire Chris Pelekoudas who was working the plate told Oh that it was foul. The Japanese great agreed and the contest went on.
Oh hit one more homer to tie the score at 9. Then Aaron hit a towering drive to left which stayed fair and ended the contest at 10-9 in favor of the greatest home run hitter in baseball history ‘Hammerin Hank’ Aaron.