Murakami Munetaka Announces Major League Baseball…

Murakami Munetaka (22, Yakult Swallows), the youngest three-time batting champion in Japanese professional baseball, expressed his intention to challenge the Major League as soon as possible.

Murakami said at a press conference in Tokyo on the 14th, “I want to challenge the Major League. “We need to discuss it with the club (to go to the Major League through the posting system), but the sooner we advance to the Major League, the better,” he said.

Murakami, who made his professional debut in 2018, is Japan’s leading slugger and has recorded 160 home runs in five seasons.

This season, he hit 56 arches, breaking the record for the most home runs in Japan, and also ranked first in batting average (0.318), RBI (134), on-base percentage (0.458), and slugging percentage (0.710).

Murakami is also the fourth batter for the Japanese national baseball team. In the warm-up match against the Nippon Ham Fighters, the Yomiuri Giants, and Australia this month, he showed his strength by hitting home runs (a total of four) in three consecutive games.

Murakami said, “Since I joined the professional league, I have dreamed of challenging myself if I qualify to enter the Major League. If I have a chance to play in the Major League, I will work hard to become a role model for my juniors.”