John Holway
/
the
japanese insider
By
Yoichi Nagata
The press conference in mid-town Tokyo resembled the weigh-in before
a heavyweight title fight as Hank Aaron and Sadaharu Oh shook hands and agreed
to come out fighting the next afternoon.
It was November 1 1974, and Aaron, the new all-time home run champ
with 733, had just flown in from Atlanta on a 17-hour flight to defend his
title in a one-on-one home run contest against
Oh.
Hank hadn't swung a bat in a month,, had arrived without his personal
willow, and was exhausted after his long flight.
It was the second time the two had met, Aaron reminded the press; the
first was seven year earlier in Vero Beach Florida, the Dodgers’ training
camp. “I heard from Clete
Boyer [former Braves third baseman, who played in Japan] that Oh was a very
good hitter. He has won two
triple crowns, and I never have.
I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s
contest.”
Aaron had a 15-pound weight advantage, but Oh was six years
younger:
Oh
Aaron
Weight
174
189
Height
5’10
6’0
Age
34
40
Lifetime hr’s
634
733
At exactly 12:30 the next afternoon the two men shook hands at home
plate in Korakuen Stadium before 50,000 fans, who were there to see the visiting
New York Mets in their tour of
Japan. Countless more
watched on TV.
Aaron proposed that each man get 20 swings, and Oh
agreed. Aaron tossed a coin and Oh called
it. He won and elected to bat
first. In round-one, Oh would
get five swings, then Aaron would take five, and repeat it for four
rounds.
Round one. The Japanese
challenger whipped three balls into the rightfield bleachers – 330 feet,
396 feet, and 412 feet.
Then coach Joe Pignatano pitched to Hank, who was using Ed Kranepool’s
34-ounce model. The American
champ smashed a 369-footer to left on his first swing and followed with a
380-foot drive in his third swing.
Score: Oh three, Aaron
two.
In round two, Oh pumped three more balls into the bleachers, the third
one measured at just under 400 feet.
Aaron came back with a 396-foot drive in his first swing, and followed
with three more into the
seats.
Score: Oh 6, Aaron
6.
In round three, Oh led off with a homer, and he seemed to be
relieved. His next drive flew
into the stands at the foul line.
The Japanese umpire in right signaled fair ball, but home plate umpire
Chris Pelakoudas over-ruled him.
Even Aaron appeared ready to
protest. On the next swing Oh
pulled another close to the pole.
Once more the rightfield umpire raised his hands, fair, but Peladoukas
again waved his arms, foul.
In his turn at bat, Hank hammered three balls over the wall to take
the lead.
Score: Aaron 9, Oh 7.
In the final round, Oh lifted one just over the wall for number
eight. After a ground ball,
he hit another 400-footer to tie Hank.
He had two swings left. The
first was a line drive that fell short of the
stands. The last swing was a
fly which also dropped on the playing field.
Hank needed one home run to win.
His first swing was a fly to
left. The second was a ground
ball to third. His third produced
the longest drive of the day, a tape-measured 429
feet.
Final score: Aaron 10,
Oh 9.
Hank hurried over to Oh to shake hands.
The Mets’ Felix Millan, a former teammate of Aaron, watched the
contest from the dugout. Hank
had strong wrists, which allowed him to keep his drives away from the foul
line, Felix said, but Oh, a typical pull hitter, lost two homers down the
line. “You can’t say Oh won,” Millan said; “on
the other hand, you can’t say he lost.”
“Oh is only 34,” Hank
said. “He has a chance
to hit over 800. [Oh’s final total would be
868]. Winning today’s contest
proves nothing. If there is
any meaning, it is that we made the fans happy.”
Since then Aaron and Oh have worked together to develop youth baseball
around the world.
Yoichi Nagata has written extensively about Nisei baseball in America
and is co-editor of the Japanese Baseball section in Total
Baseball.
