On the 10th, Softbank Hawks team chairman Sadaharu Oh paid tribute to Isao Harimoto, the professional baseball record holder with 3,085 career hits, who passed away on the 9th at the age of 86. Speaking to the press at Mizuho PayPay Dome, he looked back on memories of the deceased, who was also born in 1940.

Harimoto joined Toei (now Nippon-Ham) from Namisho (now Daitaidai Namisho) and won the Rookie of the Year award. He was crowned the leading hitter seven times, tying the all-time record, including four consecutive years starting from 1967. In 1976, he transferred to The Giants and formed the "OH Cannon" with Sadaharu Oh during his playing days under manager Shigeo Nagashima. He contributed to winning the Central League championship.

Chairman Oh's Q&A is as follows.

—Opening their own mouth

Anyway, it was so sudden. I would see them from time to time, and although their legs were a bit weak after the hip surgery, their body itself didn't seem to be in such bad shape, so I was really surprised by this news...

Even back when we were active, his body was larger than mine. Especially when I appeared on TV after my surgery following retirement, people often said I looked small, like a child next to an adult. But we were the same age, and we both worked hard in the Central and Pacific Leagues. He won Rookie of the Year in his first season and had a magnificent career. Despite having a handicap with his fingers, he is the only person to have recorded over 3,000 hits in Japan. I always strongly felt his willpower and his competitive spirit.

He was active on television for a long time, wasn't he? He was quite popular. It's not easy to say the things he did. However, he was bold and likely spoke out knowing full well what the consequences might be. In that sense, I think he was incredibly popular among a certain segment of people.

It really is an amazing thing to have been the face of a show on TV for all those years. It is something I could never possibly do.

Anyway, as people of the same age who entered the professional league together, we both worked hard in the Central and Pacific Leagues. We both take pride in the fact that we were able to do a decent amount of work for the baseball world. It is a shame that I didn't get to say a final goodbye, but I just want him to rest in peace now.

—During your active days, were you rivals? Or comrades-in-arms?

I don't know much about his time at Namisho, since I was in Tokyo. From his first year in the pros, he was hitting aggressively, and I thought there was an amazing player of the same age. At that time, was it Toei? Among people like Hachiro Yamamoto and others, I felt they were playing more freely and boldly than we were at the Giants. But I think that's why it was good. In my fourth year, I became the home run king and played in the All-Star game for the first time. The game was in Hiroshima, and at that time he said, 'If you're coming to Hiroshima anyway, stay at my place.' So I stayed there. Back then, his mother was doing well, and she treated me to a meal. After that, since we were in the Central and Pacific leagues, we didn't interact that often, but we viewed each other as rivals and were determined to do our best. That helped both of our performances and extended our careers. He was truly energetic, and the word 'sturdy' fits him best. He played one year longer than I did, after all. However, I think it was the year he arrived, 1976. I believe it was '76 when he missed out on the leading hitter title by just a few thousandths of a point. I really wanted him to get that. To be the leading hitter in both the Central and Pacific leagues. I think it was a truly unfortunate thing to miss.

—How did you view Harimoto as a hitter?

I suppose it might sound strange to call it extreme, but while I was a pull hitter, he was a spray hitter who could use the whole field. I always felt that, in terms of technique, his style of hitting was far more difficult than mine.

As expected, he was incredibly skilled at catching the ball with the face of the bat. Rather than slapping at it, his batting style felt more like receiving the ball with the face and sending it back. I think that was probably the most logical way for him to bat.

But after all, he was a seven-time leading hitter. The fact that he had over 3,000 hit is truly a brilliant achievement. So, while it is very unfortunate that he has been called to heaven, I want him to go there with his head held high.