Koichi Tabuchi touched Senichi Hoshino's Hall of Fame plaque and jokingly wondered why his friend was wearing a Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles hat.
"He played for Chunichi, didn't he?" Tabuchi asked. He gave a broad smile and nodded in approval when told it was because Hoshino had won the Japan Series as Rakuten's manager (in 2013).
There was plenty for Tabuchi to smile about on this day. In 2008, his friend and fellow 1968 draftee Koji Yamamoto went into the Hall of Fame. In 2017, the two held a party to celebrate their friend Hoshino's induction.
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