As soon as Wladimir Balentien's bat made contact with Daiki Enokida's fastball there was no doubt: Japan had just crowned a new home run king.
And the new king's first decree was that his record total wasn't high enough yet.
Balentien set the NPB single-season record with his 56th home run of year in the first inning, then hit No. 57 in his next at-bat of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows' 9-0 win over the Hanshin Tigers on Sunday night at Jingu Stadium.