Looking back: Death of a Pitching God

Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball legend with Korean roots

TOKYO — The Japan sporting world mourned the passing of one of its great icons, Masaichi Kaneda, who died on Oct. 6,  2019 at the age of 86.

Kaneda was the most dominant pitcher in the history of Japanese professional baseball. In a 20-year career, spanning the 1950s and 1960s, he won a record 400 games, far more than anyone else, a total surpassed only by two pitchers in North America's Major League Baseball.

He also held career records with 365 complete games, 298 losses, 4,490 strikeouts and 5,526 and two-thirds innings pitched, figures that awe any knowledgeable baseball fan.