Sadaharu Oh

Sadaharu Oh (Japanese: 王貞治, Ō Sadaharu; born May 20, 1940), also known as Wang Chen-chih (Chinese: 王貞治; pinyin: Wáng Zhēnzhì), is a Japanese-born Taiwanese former professional baseball player and manager who is currently the chairman of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Oh's playing career spanned across four decades, during which he played for only the Yomiuri Giants. He holds the world career home run record at 868, over 100 more than MLB record holder Barry Bonds.

Oh batted and threw left-handed and primarily played first base. Originally signed with the powerhouse Giants in 1959 as a pitcher, Oh was soon converted to a full-time hitter. Under the tutelage of coach Hiroshi Arakawa, Oh developed his distinctive "flamingo" leg kick. It took Oh three years to blossom, but he went on to dominate Nippon Professional Baseball. He was a 15-time home run champion and was named to the Central League All-Star team 18 times. More than just a power hitter, Oh was a five-time batting champion and won the Japanese Central League's batting triple crown twice. With Oh at first base, the Yomiuri Giants won 11 Japan Series championships, including 9 in a row from 1965 to 1973. Oh was named the Central League's Most Valuable Player nine times, including having the rare honor of winning Central League MVP while not on the team that won the season's pennant, which he did twice, in 1964 by virtue of breaking NPB's single season home run record with 55 home runs, a record that would stand until 2013 when Wladimir Balentien set a new record with 60 home runs that season, and 1974, when he earned his second batting Triple Crown in a row. Oh and Balentien are the only Central League players to win the Central League MVP while not on the pennant winning team the years that they won MVP.

In addition to the world career home run record, Oh set many other NPB batting records, including runs batted in (RBI) (2,170), slugging percentage (.634), bases on balls (2,390), and on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) (1.080). In 1977, Oh became the first recipient of the People's Honour Award, and he became the second baseball player to receive the Order of Culture in 2025. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.

After retiring as a player, Oh served as the Giants' manager from 1984 to 1988. He also managed the Fukuoka Daiei/Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks from 1995 to 2008. He was the manager of the Japanese national team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, which defeated Cuba for the championship. He is currently the chairman of the Hawks.