In the September 13 game against DeNA (Yokohama), Giants infielder Hayato Sakamoto (37) reached 2,471 career hits, tying “Mr. Pro Baseball” Shigeo Nagashima for 9th place on the all-time NPB list. He set the mark with a single to left off Takeda, with two outs and a runner on first in the top of the 4th while trailing by five runs. In his 20th season, he’s delivered clutch hits at key moments all year — a walk-off 300th career home run against Hiroshima on May 13, and a walk-off three-run homer against Chunichi on July 17 — building toward this milestone. Discussion on the thread centered on comparing Nagashima’s reputation to Isao Harimoto and Sadaharu Oh, and on how realistic it is for Sakamoto to reach 3,000 hits with 529 left to go.
◆JERA Central League: DeNA vs. Giants (Sept. 13, Yokohama)
Giants infielder Hayato Sakamoto (37) recorded his 2,471st career hit, tying “Mr. Pro Baseball” Shigeo Nagashima (Giants) for 9th on the all-time NPB list. Trailing by five runs with two outs and a runner on first in the 4th inning, he lined a single to left off Takeda to extend the scoring chance.
In his 20th season, he hit a walk-off home run for career homer No. 300 against Hiroshima (Fukui) on May 13, and a walk-off three-run homer against Chunichi (Tokyo Dome) on July 17. Piling up 24 hits this season, including several memorable clutch knocks, he has now reached this milestone.
Source: hochi.news / Original article here
Even Nabetsune wasn't that petty (lit. "small-assed").
Why do you say that? If he were an outsider, maybe — but he's a lifelong Giant, Mr. Tightass himself.
2023 was the last year he put up decent numbers. Honestly, this year's stats would be a fine note to retire on.
He already has.
When he hit 2,000 I figured he'd cruise to 3,000 easily.
He won the batting title 5 times as a right-handed hitter.
Well, as a hitter, pretty much only Oh is on Harimoto's level.
At best, somewhere between Kanemoto and Tatsunami.
Thinking about that just makes me sad.
Though if Ichiro hadn't gone to the majors, he'd have hit 3,000 in NPB easily.
Background and Discussion Points
The top of NPB’s all-time hit rankings is dominated by players who kept up qualifying plate appearances for years on end, like Isao Harimoto (3,085) and Sadaharu Oh (2,786). Shigeo Nagashima earned the nickname “Mr.” for his popularity and symbolic status during his playing days, but by the numbers alone he falls short of Harimoto and Oh — and that gap became a central point of debate on the thread. There’s also a broader trend where players like Sakamoto, who lock down a starting job early, increasingly choose to move to MLB sooner rather than later, meaning fewer players are likely to reach 3,000 hits within NPB alone in the future. Sakamoto needs 529 more hits to reach the 3,000 mark, but most posters agreed that at age 37, getting there won’t be easy.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Baseball] Giants’ Hayato Sakamoto Ties “Mr.” Shigeo Nagashima with 2,471 Career Hits, Tied for 9th All-Time in NPB.”
