Wladimir Balentien never quite made things happen in Major League Baseball, but now he is a part of world baseball history, as the former Mariners and Reds player is now the home run king in Japan, setting a new single season record after hitting two home runs on Sunday.
According to ESPN.com, Balentien set the record that was previously held by Sadaharu Oh after hitting home run number 56 and then later number 57 on Sunday, breaking a record that stood for nearly half a century and one that many fans were finally ready to see fall. For many years Japanese fans held the record sacred, wanting players to pitch away from anyone getting close, but this year that went out the window and now there is a new home run king in Japan for the first time many years and it is a one-time major league player that has been able to dominate across the world.
The previous record in the Japanese leagues was 55, which Oh hit back in 1964 and the record has stood since then after a couple players got close, including Alex Cabrera, but back when he got close many felt pressure to let the record stand since Oh was still working in the game, but now that he has stepped away there is less pressure and clearly that has allowed pitchers to play Balentien like a regular hitter rather than try to pitch away from him.
Balentien missed some time earlier in the year and still has games to go and when Cabrera was close, he tied the record and had a number of games to play, but he was never given the chance and now Balentien has the record for a single season in Japan. Now that the record is done, Japanese baseball can move on a bit, as Oh's record was revered for many years and now Balentien has the record and he could add to it over the next week.
Balentien previously played for the Seattle Mariners and Reds back in the MLB and he originally is from the island of Curacao and now has nearly doubled his total in HRs from last season.
"Oh is the home run king and I have a lot of respect for him,'' Balentien said, according to ESPN.com. "To be able to tie him and then pass him is something very special for me.''
