A home run is a cause for celebration in every league. In Japan, home run celebrations on the field can be epic, including props and choreographed team moves. In the stands, Japanese fans show their appreciation by waving flags, singing songs, and showering confetti.
For players hitting a home run on their first at-bat in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, surrounded by their excited teammates amid the cheering crowd, the feeling would be unforgettable. That occasion happened for the 67 players on the list below. We would like to gratefully thank our friends in the SABR Tokyo Chapter, especially Yoshihiro Koda, for their invaluable contributions in conducting research for the list below and stories.
Several highlights from this distinguished group of players include Japanese Hall of Famer Morimichi Takagi, “Mr. Grand Slam” Norihiro Komada, former National League MVP Kevin Mitchell, and Jon Nunnally, the only player (as of 2024) to hit a home run in his first at-bat in both Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. Their accomplishments, along with the other 60 players and those to come, demonstrate the talent, hard work, and joyous spirit that define Japanese baseball.
— Giselle Stancic
Katsuki Tokura and Morimichi Shiose
May 11, 1950: On Opening Day of Japan’s first postwar season under its modern two-league format, 35-year-old Katsuki Tokura of the Mainichi Orions hit a home run in his first at-bat in the new Pacific League (then called the Taiheiyo Baseball Union.) Tokura went on to hit 21 home runs and helped lead the Orions to the Nippon Series championship over the Shochiku Robins of the Central League.
Meanwhile, Morimichi Shiose, a 19-year-old pitcher out of Kokugakuin University, hit a two-run home run in his first and only at-bat in Japan’s top flight on Opening Day 1950. He walked five batters and allowed two runs before he was pulled in the second inning for the Tokyu Flyers. He never made another appearance in NPB.
After homering in his Pacific League debut in 1950, Katsuki Tokura moved on to the Hankyu Braves and played until he was 42 years old, earning four all-star selections in his eight NPB seasons. (Trading Card Database)
Norihiro Komada, known as “Mr. Grand Slam,” hit 195 career home runs with the Yomiuri Giants and Yokohoma Bay Stars from 1983 to 2000, and earned Japan Series MVP honors in 1989. (Trading Card Database)
Norihiro Komada
April 10, 1983: On Opening Day, 20-year-old rookie Norihiro Komada became the first (and only) player in Japanese baseball history to hit a grand slam in his first career at-bat, off Kazuhiko Migita of the Taiyo Whales.
Komada hit 12 home runs in 86 games, helping to lead the Yomiuri Giants to the Central League pennant. He became known as “Mr. Grand Slam” and hit 13 bases-loaded home runs during his decorated career.
Doug DeCinces
April 8, 1988: MLB veteran Doug DeCinces launched his Japanese career when the Yakult Swallows visited the brand-new Tokyo Dome on Opening Day in 1988. In his first professional plate appearance in a Japanese uniform, DeCinces hit a home run against Masumi Kuwata, a rising 20-year-old star for the Yomiuri Giants.
It was the first home run in the first official game played in the new Tokyo Dome. DeCinces thought this greatest of debuts would endear him to the 56,000 fans including Japan’s Crown Prince Akihito and his wife; they were not impressed. The Big Egg, as the Dome was nicknamed, remained silent after the historic blast.
- Read more: “Gaijin” Doug DeCinces Christens Tokyo Dome in 1988, by Jeff Barto
The Tokyo Dome, seen here in 2006, has served as the home stadium of the Yomiuri Giants since it opened in 1988. (Courtesy of Robert Fitts)
In an image captured on the front page of the Hochi Shinbun newspaper, Kevin Mitchell hits a grand slam in his Japanese debut on April 1, 1995. (Courtesy of Tomotada Yamamoto)
Kevin Mitchell
April 1, 1995: After hitting 30 home runs for the Cincinnati Reds in a 1994 season shortened by a labor dispute, Kevin Mitchell signed a $5 million contract with the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks as the highest-paid player in NPB history.
On Opening Day, the former National League MVP thrilled Japanese fans by hitting a grand slam in his first at-bat. In the bottom of the first inning, with the bases loaded and on a 1-and-0 count, Mitchell swung at a slider from Seibu Lions ace pitcher Taigen Kaku. Mitchell drilled a missile into the left-field bleachers. Through 2023, it was the only grand slam in a first at-bat in the first inning in Japanese professional baseball history. But the “dream” debut quickly turned into a nightmare for Mitchell and his team.
- Read more: Kevin Mitchell’s Grand Slam Debut in Japan, by Tomotada Yamamoto
- Read more: Kevin Mitchell’s SABR biography, by Joseph Wancho
