Some consider the powerful 6’3″ 210-lb Tabuchi the greatest Japanese catcher. After two years of challenging Sadaharu Oh for the home run crown, Tabuchi finally won it with 43 in 1975. Traded by Hanshin to Seibu, he switched to first base to prolong his career, and continued to hit between 20 and 30 HR a year into the mid-1980s.
