#Shortstops: Fair Share
Hank Aaron and Sadaharu Oh are two of the greatest home run hitters of all time. But for both legends, giving back to children through the sport that gave them so much was more important than any record.
Let’s rewind: It’s the 1980s, and Aaron and Oh are shooting a television show together in Japan. They get to talking and discussing the things they’d like to do after retirement. Giving back was a common desire they shared, and both agreed that they “wanted to help spread the greatness of the sport of baseball.” After more collaboration, Aaron and Oh presented their idea to Dr. Akiko Agishi. The three of them then planned and organized the World Children’s Baseball Fair, an annual camp designed for 10- and 11-year-olds all around the world.
“World Children’s Baseball Fair” conjures images that the camp’s main focus is coaching baseball. Aaron and Oh had other intentions, though. Their goal was to promote friendship among children and help in creating a borderless world. As explained by Aaron, they wanted to “help international kids learn what kids in Japan were like as well as kids in other countries.”
Also very important to Oh was these children finding something enjoyable about themselves and finding a new objective through baseball.
Fast forward to today, and the World Children’s Baseball Fair is still happening 35 years after its start in 1990, all thanks to Aaron and Oh’s desire to give back. These annual camps host over 200 kids from roughly 20 different countries each year. More than 100 countries have been represented at the World Children’s Baseball Fair, held in cities across Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico, Taiwan and the United States. Oh hopes their efforts with the World Children’s Baseball Fair will lead someone to break his professional record of 868 home runs.
When talking about his career, Oh says he is “most proud of the impact he’s made in helping inspire children to find joy in the sport that gave him so much.”
The proof is in essays written by WCBF participants. A 10-year-old boy from Fiji said: “It was a great experience for me traveling to a foreign country, eating their food (sushi) and experiencing their culture.”
Another boy from New Zealand, age 11, wrote: “Thank you for that fun and memorable baseball experience. I had the most fun I have ever had.”
And an 11-year-old girl from the United States said: “This opportunity was major for me. Meeting all of these new people from all corners of the world, was incredibly empowering.”
Clearly, Aaron and Oh have made a monumental impact on these children’s lives and will continue to do so with the continuation of the WCBF.
For Oh, nothing makes him happier.
“Hank Aaron would also be very happy about where we are right now,” Oh said.
A World Children’s Baseball Fair plaque from 2004 is part of the Hall of Fame’s collection.
Isabelle Monk was the 2025 special events intern in the Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Leadership Development
