And here, if only for my own amusement, are the all-time home run leaders of Japanese Baseball (400 or more):
1. Sadaharu Oh 王 貞治 (1959-1980) 868
2. Katsuya Nomura 野村 克也 (1954-1980) 657
3. Hiromitsu Kadota 門田 博光 (1970-1992) 567
4. Koji Yamamoto 山本 浩二 (1969-1986) 536
5. Hiromitsu Ochiai 落合 博満 (1979-1998) 510
6. Isao Harimoto 張本 勲 (1959-1981) 504
6. Sachio Kinugasa 衣笠 祥雄 (1965-1987) 504
8. Katsuo Osugi 大杉 勝男 (1965-1983) 486
9. Kazuhiro Kiyohara* 清原 和博 (1986-2003) 480
10. Koichi Tabuchi 田淵 幸一 (1969-1984) 474
11. Masahiro Doi 土井 正博 (1962-1981) 465
12. Shigeo Nagashima 長嶋 茂雄 (1958-1974) 444
13. Koji Akiyama 秋山 幸二 (1981-2002) 437
* denotes active player
Japanese baseball fans are fond of pointing out that Sadaharu Oh is the worldwide all-time home run leader, having bested Hank Aaron's Major League mark of 755 by more than 100. To which Americans are quick to point out that Japanese ballparks are smaller and the pitching is weaker. But then again, the Japanese baseball season is only 136 games long, compared to 162 in the US. Either way, Oh's 868 career home runs is a remarkable mark that will likely never be broken in either league.