Munetaka Murakami Breaks Single-Season Home-Run Record For Japanese-Born Player in NPB
Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols aren’t the only players breaking home-run records this season. Japan’s Munetaka Murakami has also achieved that feat in Nippon Professional Baseball.
The 22-year-old slugger ended the regular season with a bang on Monday, blasting his 56th home run of the campaign, setting a new record for the most home runs hit by a Japanese-born player. He was previously tied with Sadaharu Oh, Tuffy Rhodes and Alex Cabrera.
Murakami, who plays for the Yakult Swallows, secured his milestone home run during his final plate appearance of Monday’s 8-2 victory over the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. It came at a perfect time.
Of course, Wladimir Balentien owns the all-time record with 60 home runs, which he recorded with the Swallows in 2013. He also posted 131 RBIs and slashed .330/.455/.779 during that same season.
Murakami’s stellar 2022 performance goes beyond just home runs, though, as he also won the Triple Crown thanks to his .318 batting average and 134 RBIs. The left-hander became the youngest player to do so in NPB history – the eighth overall – and the first since Nobuhiko Matsunaka in 2004.
While speaking to reporters post-game, Murakami was still in shock over what he had just accomplished, expressing his gratitude for having the opportunity to achieve history.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m really pleased to have achieved it,” Murakami said.
Yakult’s third baseman had to wait two weeks for this moment, however, as he hadn’t touched ‘em all in 13 consecutive games heading into Monday’s contest. He received Judge-level treatment as opposing pitchers cautiously pitched around him.
But when his moment finally came, Murakami couldn’t have been happier to watch his fly ball soar over the right-field wall for his historic home run.
“I was relieved that it [his 56th home run] finally arrived,” Murakami said. “Genuinely I’m really happy to have bested the record of such great players.”
Special seasons like Murakami’s don’t come around often, particularly for someone as young as him. And after sitting on No. 55 for an extended stretch, pressure began to build as the regular season started to dwindle. He wondered if he’d ever hit No. 56.
In the end, the 6-foot-2 lefty was rewarded for his efforts in the regular-season finale, alleviating the stress he felt leading up to his final game. And it’s a moment he’ll cherish for the rest of his life.
“I had that feel [of hitting a home run] for the first time in a while. It’s been a long time,” Murakami said. “I’d be lying if I said there was no pressure. I’m stunned myself, I wonder whether the reward [for this year’s performance] came at the very end.”
Murakami certainly has a very bright future ahead of him, and the rest of the baseball community should receive a glimpse of that during next spring’s World Baseball Classic. As for his potential future playing in North America, that’s likely still at least a few years away.
With just five professional seasons under his belt, the bright young star won’t gain free-agent status until after 2026 – his age-26 season. But he can request to be posted to MLB before then, just as Shohei Ohtani did after completing his fifth professional season in Japan.
Either way, Murakami should be a must-watch for all hard-core baseball fans moving forward.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: 要塞騎士. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.