Injuries have plagued Yoshinobu Takahashi for much of what was once a promising career with the Yomiuri Giants.
Much older, but most importantly healthy, he laughed at his bad luck on Friday, after reaching a milestone that seemed like a foregone conclusion in the days when he was an up-and-coming young superstar.
Takahashi hit his 300th career home run, Tetsuya Utsumi threw a shutout and the Giants beat the Hiroshima Carp 5-0 on Friday night at Tokyo Dome.