Yakult Swallows Munetaka Murakami (23) hit a home run in five games, getting one step closer to hitting 30 home runs for the third consecutive year.
Murakami started as third baseman No. 4 in the game against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp held at the Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on the 12th, and recorded 1 hit in 4 at-bats, 1 home run, 1 RBI, and 1 run.
먹튀검증Murakami, who came to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the third inning with both teams tied 1-1, pushed Hiroshima starting pitcher Shogo Tamamura’s slider on the eighth pitch and hit a solo home run over the left field fence. This home run became the game-winning hit that day.
Munetaka Murakami during his time on the Japanese national team in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). /OSEN DB
Japanese media Daily Sports said, “Murakami’s 27th home run of the season was the winning run, and Yakult won. “He recorded a total of 187 home runs, surpassing Kazuhiro Kiyohara’s home run in his 6th year as a high school graduate.” Kiyohara is one of Japan’s representative home run hitters with a total of 525 home runs. Murakami said, “He is a person who left behind great results until his retirement. “I don’t think I’ve surpassed him yet.”
Murakami, who has a batting average of .275 (654 hits in 2,375 at-bats), 187 home runs, 506 RBIs, and an OPS of .964 in 678 games, had a batting average of .318 (155 hits in 487 at-bats) in 141 games last season, with 56 home runs and 135 RBIs. He had his best season, recording 1.168. He achieved the Triple Crown and broke the record for most home runs by a Japanese player, surpassing Sadaharu Oh’s 55 home runs in 1964.
Munetaka Murakami during his time on the Japanese national team in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). /OSEN DB
However, this season, the results are not as good as expected. He suffered a severe slump until April, recording only a batting average of .557, 13 hits in 83 at-bats, 2 home runs, and 12 RBI in 25 games. However, he began to rebound again in May, and recovered his performance to some extent with a batting average of .251 1-3 (111 hits in 442 at-bats), 27 home runs, 76 RBI, and an OPS of .863 in 125 games. If he hits three more home runs in the future, he can reach 30 home runs for the third consecutive year, following 39 home runs in 2021 and 56 home runs in 2022.
Murakami said, “I was able to push it to my hitting point,” but said, “My goal was higher,” and he could not hide his regret over his poor performance this season.