Masanori Murakami, the first Japanese player in MLB

Masanori Murakami autographed photo

Baseball pitcher Masanori Murakami was the first Japanese baseball player to play in the major leagues. He came to the United States to play baseball in the minor leagues, but got promoted to the major leagues after showing excellent play. He started his career in Japan with the Nankai Hawks in 1962. In 1964 and 1965 he played for the San Francisco Giants. After those two years he went home to Japan, where he played baseball for another 17 years.

It was tough for Murakami to play baseball in his childhood. His dad wanted him to become a doctor. He was allowed to play in elementary school, but when he started in middle school his dad wanted him to get serious about a career as a doctor. Murakami had to play in secret. His dad found out about it, but as recalled in Remembering Japanese Baseball by Robert K. Fitts, he reluctantly agreed.

“Playing baseball is okay as long as you continue to study hard.”

As a 17-year-old he signed a contract with the Nankai Hawks. Two years later the major leagues allowed 40 players to come and play baseball in the minor leagues. Murakami was one of those chosen.

“First I thought I’d like to go to college, but then the team’s manager came to the house. He said if I signed a contract, he wanted me to study baseball in America. I promised him I would,” he said in Johnson, Miller, and Wong's San Francisco Giants: Where Have You Gone?

In 1964 Murakami played for the Fresno Grizzlies, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The Grizzlies won the Californian League championship, where Murakami had a 1.78 ERA. The management liked Murakami so much that he got promoted to the Giants, where he pitched 15 innings in nine games with a 1.80 ERA.

After Murakami’s first year of playing for the Giants, his contract ran out, and he was supposed to go home to Japan, but the Giants wanted to extend his contract. The Nankai Hawks wanted him back. An agreement was reached; Murakami would play with the Giants for another year and then go back to Japan.

When Murakami came back to Japan he couldn’t play as well as he had done in the United States, because he tried to pitch overhand instead of sidearm which resulted in a sore arm.

“I was even in the hospital in April. When I got out the manager said, 'Throw anyway you like.' I felt he had given up on me but at the same time I felt ‘Yoshi’ – I’ll show them,” he said to Baseball Digest.

He switched back to his old sidearm pitch, with a few adjustments from how he had done in the United States, which improved his play a lot.

“Nankai is surprised by Murakami’s courage and his new spirit. I think he is going to be a real star now,” said a Japanese baseball writer.

After 17 years of playing in Japan he became a commentator for Tokyo’s NHK network. In 2001 he became manager for the Japanese national women’s team. He and his wife now live in Tokyo. He is pleased to see more and more Japanese baseball players in the United States.

“None of them know about me, because they weren’t born yet. For more than 30 years, no one else came. But I am proud to see them now,” Murakami said.