Isao Harimato (Baseballer)

[aRchi-]

Isao Harimato (Baseballer)



Isao Harimato (19 Haziran 1940; Hiroshima, Japonya) eski bir Koreli, Nippon Profesyonel Beysbol (Japon beysbol ligi) oyuncusudur ve bu ligin pek çok rekorunun sahibidir. Etnik Korecede dogum ismi Jang Hun'dur (Hangul: 장훈) ancak hayatini Japonya'da geçirdigi için Japonca ismini kullanmaktadir fakat hala bir Kore vatandasidir. Japon beysbolunun gelismesine yaptigi katkilardan dolayi ismi 1990 yilinda Japon Beysbol Müzesi'nin ünlüler bölümüne eklenmistir. Simdiyse beysbol analisti olarak televizyon kanallarinda çalismaktadir.

Kisisel Geçmisi

Kore yarimadasi Japon isgali altindayken, Harimoto'nun ailesi Kore'den Japonya'ya tasinmis ve Hiroshima'ya yerlesmistir. 4 yasinda geçirdigi bir kazada maruz kaldigi ciddi yaniklar sol elinin 3 parmagini içe dogru kivrilmis sekilde neredeyse tamamen cansiz birakti. Bu durum onu bir sol el atici ve vurucusu olmaya,ve yarali elini saracak ve topu tutabilmesine yardim edecek bir eldiven kullanmaya mecbur birakti. Neyse ki yarali parmaklari beysbol sopasinin arasindan kayabilecek bir sekilde bükülmüstü. Harimoto henüz bir çocukken sopayi yalnizca sag eliyle sallamaya çalistigini ve yarali elini güçlendirerek yararli hale getirmeye çalistigini söyler.
Harimoto, 6 Agustos 1945'te Hirosima'ya atilan atom bombasindan kurtulabildi. Kendisi Japonya'da profesyonel beysbol oynayan ve bu feci olaydan kurtulabilen tek kisidir. Olaydan yara almadan kurtulabildi çünkü ailesiyle birlikte yasadigi ev bir dagin gölgesinde kaliyordu ve bu durum onlara kalkan oldu fakat patlama bölgesinde bulunan kiz kardesini kaybetti. Haytinin ilerleyen evrelerinde Japon Hibakusha Hareketinin ( misyonu küresel nükleer silahlanma karsitligi ve kurbanlarin kullanimi için tazminat hakki kazanmak olan bir proje) üyelerinden biri olmustur.

Profesyonel Kariyeri

Harimoto profesyonel kariyerine 1959 yilinda Toei Flyers'ta baslamis ve ayni yil yilin çaylagi seçilmistir. O hizi ve gücü birlikte kullanabilen tehlikeli bir vurucuydu. Japon Profesyonel Beysbol ligindeki 3085 rekor kendisine aittir. Japonya ve Amerika profesyonel liglerindeki toplam rekoru Japon oyuncu Ichiro Suzuki tarafindan 2009 yilinda kirilmistir. 28 Mayis 1980'de Lotte Orions için oynarken topladigi 3000'den fazla puanla halen Japonyadaki en skorer oyuncudur. Kazandigi bu basaridan ötürü Maengho Madalyasi ( sporda mükemmellik ödülü) ile onurlandirildi.

Kulüpleri

Toei Flyers/Nippon Ham Fighters (1959 - 1975)
Yomiuri Giants (1976 - 1979)
Lotte Orions (1980 - 1981)

Basarilari ve Ödülleri

3085 kariyer rekoru (Nippon Profeyonel Beysbol rekoru)
Pasifik Ligi “Yilin Çaylagi” (1959)
Pasifik Ligi “En Degerli Oyuncu” (1962)
15 kez Best Nine Ödülü sahibi (1960-1970, 1972-1974, 1976, 1977)
18 kez All-Star seçmeleri (1960-1964, 1966-1978)
8 kez “En Iyi Atici” (1961, 1967-1970, 1972-1974)

Çeviri: aRchi-

English

Isao Harimoto (born June 19, 1940 in Hiroshima, Japan) is a Korean former Nippon Professional Baseball player and holder of the record for most hits in the Japanese professional leagues. An ethnic Korean, his birth name is Jang Hun (Hangul: 장훈). Harimoto has spent his life as a resident of Japan and adopted a Japanese name, but remains a Korean citizen. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990 and now works as a television baseball analyst.

Personal Background

Harimoto's family relocated to Japan from Korea shortly before he was born, while the Korean peninsula was under Japanese occupation, and settled in Hiroshima. Burns suffered in an accident at the age of four severely injured his right hand, with the middle three fingers scarred and largely useless, frozen into a curled position. This forced him to become a left-handed thrower and hitter, and to use a custom glove that fit over his damaged hand while still allowing him to catch the ball. Fortunately, the scarred fingers were bent in such a way that a baseball bat could be slid between them. Harimoto speaks of practicing swinging the bat as a child with only his right hand, trying to strengthen the injured limb to make it useful.
Harimoto would survive the release of an atomic bomb over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and has been identified as the only survivor of that incident to play professional baseball in Japan. He survived without injuries because the family home was located in the shadow of a mountain and shielded from the blast, but lost a sister who was in the blast zone. Later in life, he would become a member of the Japanese Hibakusha Movement, a project dedicated to outlawing global nuclear weaponry, and gaining compensation for victims of their use.

Baseball Career

Harimoto began his professional career with the Toei Flyers in 1959, when he was selected as rookie of the year. .He was a dangerous hitter who combined both power and speed. His 3085 career hits is the Nippon Professional Baseball record. Among Japanese-born players, Ichiro Suzuki passed Harimoto's hit total in 2009 based on his combined career in Japan and the American major leagues. Harimoto remains the only player to accumulate more than 3000 in Japan, a mark he reached with a home run on May 28, 1980, while playing for the Lotte Orions. After reaching this milestone, Harimoto was awarded the South Korean Order of Sport Merit Maengho Medal (국민훈장 맹호장; Maengho, literally Fierce Tiger), a prize for excellence in sports.

Teams

Toei Flyers/Nippon Ham Fighters (1959 - 1975)
Yomiuri Giants (1976 - 1979)
Lotte Orions (1980 - 1981)

Career highlights and awards

3085 career hits (Nippon Professional Baseball record)
Pacific League Rookie of the Year (1959)
Pacific League MVP (1962)
15x Best Nine Award winner (1960-1970, 1972-1974, 1976, 1977)
18x All-Star selection (1960-1964, 1966-1978)
8x Batting Titles (1961, 1967-1970, 1972-1974)

Kaynak/Source