Masayuki Kakefu: Cool and Consistent

The Power Hitter Pantheon: Baseball’s Greatest Home Run Heroes

This project aims to determine the greatest home run hitter of all time by comparing each slugger’s statistics to the average of their era using three formulas. The final adjusted stats will then be used to compare them head-to-head with other all-time greats.

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Masayuki Kakefu will be the next legendary Japanese League slugger examined in this study. For a brief biography of Kakefu, please click here.

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According to Baseball Reference, Kakefu’s official statistics reveal a total of 349 home runs over 5,673 at-bats resulting in an average of at-bats per home run 16.26 (AB/HR).

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Masayuki Kakefu played in Japan’s Central League (JPCL) from 1974 to 1988. When aggregating the statistics from each of the seasons Kakefu competed in, the league totals include 389,454 at-bats and 13,021 home runs, resulting in an average of 29.91 at-bats per home run (AB/HR).

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With this data, we can evaluate how Kakefu’s performance compared to the average Japanese League hitter of his era.

• Raw Difference: 13.65
  Formula: League Average – Player Career Average

• Improvement Factor: 1.84x
  Formula: League Average / Player Career Average

• Percentage Difference: 45.64%
  Formula: (League Average – Player Career Average) / League Average × 100%

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Kakefu’s AB/HR:

• Across the JPCL during his era, players required nearly twice as many at-bats (29.91) to hit a home run. Kakefu hit a home run once every 16.26 at-bats on average. A lower AB/HR indicates greater power-hitting efficiency—fewer at-bats needed per home run.

Raw Difference:

• Kakefu needed 13.65 fewer at-bats per home run than the league average. This gap highlights his superior power output.

Improvement Factor:

• Kakefu was 1.84 times more efficient at hitting home runs than the average JPCL player.

Percentage Difference:

• This shows that Kakefu’s AB/HR was 45.64% better (lower) than the league average, reinforcing his dominance as a slugger.

Masayuki Kakefu’s career stats reveal him to be a legendary slugger in the Japanese Central League from 1974 to 1988. His 16.26 AB/HR, based on 5,673 at-bats and 349 home runs, far outpaces the league average of 29.91 AB/HR.

This translates to a raw difference of 13.65 fewer at-bats per home run, an improvement factor of 1.84x, and a percentage difference of 45.64%—all of which confirm his exceptional power-hitting prowess.

Kakefu was a dominant force, hitting home runs at nearly double the rate of the average JPCL player during his era. He stands out as a true icon of Japanese baseball.

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In our initial analysis, we examined the careers of Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez, and Joe DiMaggio using our formulas. Following that, we also evaluated the careers of Josh Gibson, Sadaharu Oh, Buck Leonard, Tetsuharu Kawakami, Mule Suttles, Noboru Aota, Oscar Charleston, Katsuya Nomura, Turkey Stearnes, Makoto Kozuru, Willie Wells, Hiromitsu Ochiai, Wilson Redus, Kazuhiro Yamauchi, Dewey Creacy, Hiromitsu Kadota, Edgar Wesley, Koji Yamamoto, Jud Wilson, Fumio Fujimura, John Beckwith, Kazuhiro Kiyohara, Martín Dihigo, Isao Harimoto, and George Scales.

Now, let's compare Kakefu’s career statistics against these baseball legends to gain a clearer perspective on how he stacks up.

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When we zoom in on players in Kakefu’s statistical orbit—those with similar metrics—some fascinating peers emerge:

• Isao Harimoto (15.89, 1.83x, 45.31%): A Japanese baseball icon, Harimoto’s numbers are strikingly close to Kakefu’s, with a slightly higher Raw Difference but nearly identical Improvement Factor and Percentage Difference.

• Tetsuharu Kawakami (34.71, 1.84x, 45.58%): Another JPCL legend, Kawakami matches Kakefu’s 1.84x Improvement Factor exactly and has a Percentage Difference within a whisker of Kakefu’s.

• Dewey Creacy (33.15, 1.80x, 44.54%): Creacy’s Improvement Factor and Percentage Difference hover right around Kakefu’s, making him a compelling parallel from the Negro Leagues.

• Jud Wilson (34.72, 1.87x, 46.45%): Wilson’s stats align closely, with a slightly higher Improvement Factor but a Percentage Difference just a step above Kakefu’s.

Kakefu’s shines among this tier of exceptional yet relatable sluggers. His 1.84x Improvement Factor is particularly noteworthy—it’s a mark of consistency and power that rivals the best in his class.