Baseball legend Sadaharu Oh has been hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms, according to Japan’s Kyodo news agency (per the Associated Press). It was reported that Oh was admitted to a hospital in southwestern Japan in Miyazaki prefecture after he complained about having a fever and throat pain. No additional information was given.
Oh began his baseball career in 1959 as a member of the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. In his career, Oh helped the Giants win 11 Japan Series championships, including nine straight from 1965-1973. Oh was named Central League MVP nine times, won the Triple Crown twice and hit for the cycle in 1963. In his 22-year career, Oh hit 868 home runs (world record) and drove in 2,170 runs (Japanese Record). He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.
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Following his playing career, Oh would become the assistant manager of the Giants in 1981. He was promoted to manager in 1984 and led the squad to a Central League pennant in 1987. Oh retired following the 1998 season but returned to managing in 1995. He became manager of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks led the team to two Japan Series titles in 1999 and 2003. Oh retired as manager in 2008.
In a 2008 interview with The New York Times, Oh talked about how he was able to hit so many home runs. “I had strong legs that would have made me a good sumo wrestler and I used that to my advantage, but my home runs were achieved by technique,” Oh said. “I competed well with the Americans in those good-will-type exhibition games they used to bring here with MLB all-stars, and I always thought if I had a chance to go to America, I could probably hit close to 30 home runs in a season. But again, it would have been with technique.”
Oh was good friends with MLB legend Hank Aaron. When he hit his 756 home run in 1977, Aaron sent a video message to him, stating: “I would have loved to have been there tonight to put the crown on top of his head because he certainly is quite a gentleman and the people of Japan have a lot to be proud of. I want to wish him the best of luck in the world. I know he is capable of hitting more home runs.”
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