Murakami Munetaka (23, Yakult Swallows), who contributed to Japan’s victory in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), did not acknowledge the difference in skill between Japanese and American baseball.
According to Japanese media, including “Sports Hochi” on the 27th, Murakami returned to the team belonging to Yakult after finishing the WBC and did his first training. Murakami said, “We have to work harder. After saying, “He wants to become a player who is active in the world,” he was asked about the difference in skill between the Japanese and American major leagues.
In response, Murakami said, “There is no difference. The level and ability of Japanese baseball, which has become the world’s best, has improved. It is a power that can fight on an equal footing with the United States, and actually won the WBC. I showed the world the strength of Japanese baseball.”
Japan won the WBC championship by beating the United States 3-2 in the final. Although the U.S. did not have the best team because of the lack of top pitchers due to preparations for the season, the superiority of Japanese baseball, which showed perfect performance with a 7-game winning streak, was proved to the world. 온라인바카라
Murakami was sluggish in this WBC with a batting average of .231 (6 hits in 26 bats), 1 home run, 6 RBIs, 6 walks and 13 strikeouts in 7 games. After struggling with a batting average of 10.43 (2 hits in 14 at-bats) and 7 strikeouts in 4 group stage games, the batting order went down from 4 to 5 from the quarterfinal tournament.
Before adjusting the batting order, Japan coach Hideki Kuriyama called Murakami directly and informed him, “Go to number 5.” Murakami expressed his gratitude, saying, “I am grateful that the director called me when I was excluded from the fourth round and told me various things.”
In the semifinal match against Mexico, Murakami led Japan to the final by hitting a come-from-behind 2 RBI double in the 9th inning, out 1st and 2nd base, which was behind by 4-5. In the final match against the United States, he exploded a solo home run to Merrill Kelly in the second inning, repaying coach Kuriyama’s trust in him as a starter until the end.
188cm, 97kg tall right-handed left-handed third baseman Murakami was nominated by Yakult as the first pick in the 2017 draft and debuted in the first team in September 2018. Reporting a home run from his first at-bat in his debut, he exploded 36 homers in his first year full-time in 2019. He was named Central League MVP with 39 home runs in 2021 following his 28 home runs in 2020.
Last year, in 141 games, batting average, .318, 155 hits, 56 homers, 134 RBIs, 114 points, 118 walks, on-base percentage, .458 slugging percentage, .710 OPS, 1.168, sweeping first place in batting average, home runs, RBIs, runs, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. We had a monster season. He broke the 1964 Sadaharu Oh record for the first time in 58 years with 56 home runs in a single season by a Japanese batter, including the world’s first five consecutive home runs. After the season, he was selected as the youngest unanimous MVP, and he also revealed plans to enter the major leagues in 2026 with a 3-year, 1.8 billion yen super-large contract with Yakult. /waw@osen.co.kr