Hiromitsu Kadota
Outfielder
Born:(1948-02-26)February 26, 1948 Onoda,Japan
Died: January 23, 2023(2023-01-23) (aged 74) Aioi,Hyogo Prefecture,Japan
Batted: Left Threw: Left
debut
1970, for the Nankai Hawks
Last appearance
1992, for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
Career statistics
Batting average	.289
Home runs	567
Hits	2,566
Runs batted in	1,678
Stats atBaseball Reference
Teams
As player Nankai Hawks (1970–1988) Orix Braves (1989–1990) Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (1991–1992)
Career highlights and awards
Pacific League MVP (1988) 7xBest Nine Award (1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1988, 1989)
Member of the Japanese
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	2006

Hiromitsu Kadota (門田 博光,Kadota Hiromitsu; February 26, 1948 – January 23, 2023)^[1] was a Japanese professionalbaseball player for theHawks franchise (known during his career as the Nankai Hawks and the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks) and theOrix Braves. Celebrated for his slugging ability, he ate a lot and became a strong hitter, though was later weakened bydiabetes mellitus. With 567 home runs, Kadota is number three on theNPB career list.

Kadota won theNippon Professional Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1980 with 41 home runs and 84 RBI.

He hit 44 home runs at the age of 40 in 1988, also knocking in 125 runs and winning thePacific League Most Valuable Player Award. He became the first 40-year-old to win the award in NPB history and is still the oldest player to win MVP in NPB history.^[2] That year he was also given theMatsutaro Shoriki Award, for contribution to the development of professional baseball.

After playing for theOrix Braves for two seasons, he returned to the Hawks in 1991; he retired after his last game against pitcherHideo Nomo in 1992.

Kadota was inducted into theJapanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Kadota died on January 23, 2023, after a police officer found him lying on the ground after having not showed up to an outpatient treatment in a hospital inAioi, Hyogo and was confirmed dead on the scene.^[3][4]

• Nippon Professional Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award

• Hiromitsu Kadota (Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame)Archived 2009-07-17 at theWayback Machine
• Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics fromJapaneseBaseball.com

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