Jun Hakota

Jun Hakota (箱田 淳)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 138 lb.

• High School Eishin Commercial High School

• Born February 1, 1932 in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Japan
• Died February 18, 2021

BR register page

Biographical Information

Jun Hakota played every position except catcher in a 14-year career in Nippon Pro Baseball. He was a 3-time All-Star.

Hakota debuted with the Kokutetsu Swallows in 1951, going 0-1 with a 8.84 ERA and 15 walks in 18 1/3 IP. He was 1-1 with a 2.03 ERA in 22 outings in 1952. In an increased role in 1953, he fell to 3-8, 3.80 though his control had improved significantly (48 BB in 120 2/3 IP). After going 10 for 42 at the plate his first two years, he hit .272/.272/.380 that season, starting to play the field regularly. He would never pitch again, having gone 4-10 with a 3.84 ERA in 61 career games. Moving to second base full-time in 1954, Hakota had a great season, hitting .323/.340/.463. He finished 4th in the Central League in average behind Wally Yonamine, Hiroyuki Watanabe and Michio Nishizawa. He was named to the Best Nine at second base, ending a 7-year run by Shigeru Chiba.

The Hiroshima native faded drastically in 1955, hitting only .226/.271/.330 with 45 runs produced in 103 games. He recovered to bat .259/.293/.407 in 1956, and led the loop in triples (13) and sacrifice flies (6). He made his first CL All-Star team that year, and he was 1-for-3 in the 1956 NPB All-Star Game. In 1957, the little infielder hit .251/.299/.343 but made the All-Star team again; he was 0-for-2 this time. He repeated as an All-Star in 1958, and he went 0-for-2 in the 1958 NPB All-Star Game. He batted .271/.302/.361 with 17 steals (in 27 tries) and a CL-high 513 at-bats, and he was 11th in the league in batting average. Hakota hit .247/.277/.367 in 1959. In 1960, he produced at a .256/.283/.410 rate with 23 steals in 33 tries and a career-high 16 home runs. Moving to the Taiyo Whales in 1961, Hakota hit .234/.295/.349 in a reduced role. He played just 69 games and had only 81 plate appearances in 1962, batting .260/.321/.425. #3 hit .272/.313/.397 in 92 games in 1963 and .189/.232/.222 in 98 plate appearances over 58 games in 1964.

Overall, Hakota had hit .261/.296/.380 with 993 hits and 80 homers in 1,279 games in NPB.

Source

• Japanbaseballdaily.com
• Wiki Japan