Shuichi Murata
Encyclopedia
is a third baseswine for the Yokohama BayStars
.
Murata led the Central League
in home run
s in both and and is one of the few pure home run hitters
in Japanese professional baseball today. He played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics
as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic
as a member of the Japanese national team
and hit cleanup
for much of the latter tournament.
, a member of the age group often referred to as the Matsuzaka Generation
. He played for the Seto Bears, a local Little League team, in elementary school
and for the Kasuya
Phoenix in nearby Kasuya in junior high
.
Murata went on to Higashi Fukuoka
High School, leading the school
to consecutive berths in national tournaments
in his senior year
as the team's ace pitcher
. Armed with a 143 km/h (89 mph) fastball
, Murata carried his team to a 5-0 victory over Izumo
Hokuryo Senior High School in their first game in the 70th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament
(Higashi Fukuoka High's first-ever appearance in the spring
tournament), but succumbed to Yokohama
Senior High School in the next round, suffering a two-hit shutout at the hands of current Boston Red Sox
right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka
and giving up a home run to current Seibu Lions outfielder
Taketoshi Gotoh
. Though Murata's team secured a berth in the 80th National High School Baseball Championship
held that very summer
, they lost to a current Orix Buffaloes
outfielder Katsuaki Furuki-led Toyota
Otani High School in the first round.
Murata hit a total of 30 home runs during his high school career. Realizing that he "would never defeat Matsuzaka as long as [he] remained a pitcher", decided he would become a position player
upon enrolling in college
. Among Murata's teammates at the time were then-junior
Kensuke Tanaka, who currently plays second base
for the Fighters, and catcher
Ryuji Ohno, who played for the Fukuoka Daiei and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
from to .
in Tokyo
as an economics
major
alongside his high school batterymate
Ohno and worked his way into the lineup
as the team's starting third baseman
, eventually developing into one of the league's
more prominent sluggers.
In , his junior
year, Murata led his team to the finals
of the All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series in June
and was chosen to the Japanese team that would play in the 30th Japan-USA
University Baseball Championship Series to be held later that month
. He tied a Tohto University Baseball League
record for most home runs in a single season
(previously held by current Chiba Lotte Marines
second baseman Tadahito Iguchi
) with eight that fall
.
Murata earned his second straight selection to the Japanese team prior to the 31st Japan-USA University Baseball Championship Series in the summer of his senior
year . He also played for the national team in the inaugural IBAF World University Baseball Championship
held in Italy
in August
, contributing to the team's bronze medal
finish.
Murata hit .275 with 103 hits
(tied for sixth all-time), 20 home runs (tied for second all-time) and 70 RBI
for his college
career, winning the Tohto University Baseball League Best Nine Award four times. He was signed as a pre-draft pick prior to the 2002 NPB amateur draft
held in the fall of his senior
year by the Yokohama BayStars. Ohno, who had played alongside Murata throughout high school and college, was drafted in the fifth round of the draft by the Hawks (he retired in 2007). Other notable college players selected in the same draft include Tsuyoshi Wada
and Nagisa Arakaki
(Hawks), Katsuhiro Nagakawa
(Hiroshima Toyo Carp
), Hirotaka Egusa
(Hanshin Tigers
) and Gotoh and Chikara Onodera
(Lions).
equivalent of "major league") roster
in the spring of his rookie
season in the pros
, making his professional debut in the season opener against the Tigers on March 28, getting his first career hit
then-Yomiuri Giants
veteran Masumi Kuwata
on April 1 and hitting his first home run off Giants left-hander Hisanori Takahashi
the next day. His first career stolen base
was a steal of home on a delayed double steal against the Carp on May 7.
In the first half of the season, Murata saw a significant amount of playing time at second base, despite having played third base almost exclusively during his college career, due to teammate Katsuaki Furuki's stronghold on third. He and Furuki started at their respective positions
until June
, with Murata being moved back to third when Furuki was converted to the outfield in the latter half of the season. He entered a slump in July
and was sent down to the nigun team ("minor league
" or "farm team
"), but hit 10 home runs in September
after being called up a second time, setting an NPB record for home runs hit in a single month by a rookie.
Though his campaign was cut short when he was hit
by a pitch
thrown by then-Yakult Swallows
right-hander Katsutoshi Ishidoh on September 28, fracturing
his right ulna
, Murata finished with 25 home runs in just 104 games, good for sixth all-time in home runs hit as a rookie (he also finished with a batting average
of just .224 and an on-base percentage of .303).
s, with then-manager
Daisuke Yamashita opting to use veteran Hitoshi Taneda or Seiichi Uchikawa
at third base instead. He often hit in the 7-hole after the All-Star
break, striking out less and improving on his on-base percentage but seeing a corresponding drop in his power numbers (home runs, slugging percentage).
Masahide Kobayashi
in an interleague game against the Chiba Lotte Marines
on May 6, he struggled so much early on in the season that he even found himself slotted into the 9-hole for seven games during interleague play (in games hosted by Pacific League
teams in which the designated hitter
rule was employed). He used the lineup
change as motivation, hitting a game-winning two-run
homer off reliever
Yasuhiko Yabuta
in a game against the Marines on May 28. He hit his first career grand slam
off Giants left-hander Tetsuya Utsumi
on June 22, finishing the year with a .252 average, 24 home runs and 82 RBI.
that would face the Japanese national team in the exhibition game
s preceding the inaugural World Baseball Classic
in early , hitting a three-run home run off Daisuke Matsuzaka in Game 2 to lead the All-Stars to a 4-3 upset victory over the national team.
It turned out to be a breakout year for Murata, who began the season in the 7-hole but moved up to the No. 5 spot after center fielder
Hitoshi Tamura
was removed from the active roster due to injury. He made the first start as cleanup hitter
of his career on June 1 in a game against the Hawks as a replacement for slumping first baseman
Takahiro Saeki, hitting the first walk-off home run
of his career off then-Buffaloes reliever Jun Hagiwara on June 9 in the eleventh inning and following up the feat with his second such shot off Tokyo Yakult Swallows reliever Masao Kida
on June 30 in the tenth inning. He remained in the cleanup spot until the end of the season, finishing with a .266 average, 34 homers and 114 RBI (all career highs) as one of the few consistent sources of offensive
production on a team plagued by injuries all year. However, he also struck out 153 times, leading both Central and Pacific leagues in that category.
Murata was again named to the NPB All-Stars, this time to play in the Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series
, after the regular season. He batted cleanup in Game 4 and hit a solo home run off then-Anaheim Angels
right-hander John Lackey
in Game 5, going 4-for-15 (.267) with three RBI for the five-game series.
in the second half of the season after hitting just 13 home runs at the All-Star break was particularly effective, allowing him to hit 23 homers after the break alone. He passed then-Chunichi Dragons
slugger Tyrone Woods
, who had led him by eight homers at the end of August, and finished with 36 (one more than Swallows right fielder
Aaron Guiel
), leading the Central League in home runs for the first time in his career.
Murata played in the Asian Baseball Championship
as a member of the Japanese national team that December
, his first time playing on the national team.
but heating up in May
and reaching the 30-homer plateau by the end of July
. He hit the third walk-off home run of his career off closer Alex Graman
in the tenth inning of a game against the Saitama Seibu Lions on June 21 and homered in five straight games from July 15 to July 19 against the Carp and Giants, garnering selection to the national team for the upcoming Beijing Olympics
. Even though he missed two-and-a-half weeks of the season due to the Olympics, Murata managed to reach 40 homers for the first time in his career on September 14.
Murata finished the season with a .323 average, 46 homers (a franchise record) and 114 RBI, hitting over .300 for the first time in his career and leading the league in home runs for the second straight year (finishing just one ahead of Giants slugger Alex Ramírez
). He became the first Japanese
-born player to lead the Central League in home runs in back-to-back seasons since current Dragons manager Hiromitsu Ochiai
accomplished the feat for the Dragons in and and also led the league in slugging percentage (.665) and on-base plus slugging
(1.062). However, despite his offensive production, the BayStars finished dead last in the Central League with a 48-94 record, most likely playing a factor in Murata's finishing just seventh in Most Valuable Player
voting and receiving only two first-place votes (Ramírez, who hit .319 with 45 homers and 125 RBI, won the award).
suffered while running the bases during the World Baseball Classic
held in March
. However, while it was initially reported that he would be out roughly six weeks and that his return to the active roster would be no earlier than May
, Murata recovered from the injury at an astonishing pace, playing in a minor league game against the Marines on April 15 (just two weeks after the season opener) as the designated hitter and homering in his first at-bat
. He was added to the active roster and returns as the cleanup on April 21, getting his first hit of the season in a game against the Swallows on April 24 and his first home run off Tigers reliever Ryo Watanabe on April 29. He earned a walk-off hit by pitch against the Giants on May 13 in a 9-8 win. He hit his 200th career home run on 28 July against Tigers. On August 7, he torn his right hamstring after the game against the Chunichi Dragons
, although he was expected to be sit out for the remaining season, he recovered again and managed to return to the starting lineup as the cleanup hitter on 21 September's game against the Hanshin Tigers.
(which also functioned as the Asia
n qualifying tournament for the 2008 Beijing Olympics
) held in Taichung
, Taiwan
. He went 4-for-9 (.444) in three games, helping Japan win the tournament and clinch a berth in the upcoming Olympic Games
.
and had to be hospital
ized in Tokyo
in early August
, keeping him from taking part in team practices prior to departing for Beijing
and temporarily weakening his dynamic visual acuity. Japan's disappointing fourth-place finish behind South Korea, Cuba
and the United States
prompted sharp criticism of manager Senichi Hoshino
by the Japanese media
, who had opted to start Murata in eight of the team's nine games despite his clearly not being in good health
and hitting just 2-for-23 (.087) with one double
(55th of all 58 qualifying players in batting average) during the tournament.
on March 5 as the team's No. 5 hitter and another three-run homer in their 14-2 mercy rule
clubbing of South Korea on March 7 as the cleanup hitter, hitting .320 and driving in seven runs in the first seven games of the tournament.
However, Murata injured himself while rounding first base in the fourth inning of Japan's seeding match against South Korea in the second round
held in San Diego on March 19, tearing his right hamstring
. Though Japan went on to become tournament champions in the final round played in Los Angeles
, Murata was forced to return to Japan early. He was presented his gold medal
by manager Tatsunori Hara
upon the team's return to Tokyo on March 25.
power, a trait that Murata refers to as "pulling the ball to right field
". While he left much to be desired in his plate discipline early in his career, he has improved his batting average as well as his on-base percentage virtually every season of his career and has developed into one of the most dangerous hitters in all of Japanese professional baseball.
in both 2007 (18) and 2008 (16). Murata has seen time at both second and first base in the pros, playing 65 games at second in 2003, his rookie season, and one game at first in 2004. He played first base in the seeding match in the second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic (Giants slugger Michihiro Ogasawara
took his place after he was injured).
Bold indicates league leader; statistics current as of 16 May 2009
Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium....
.
Murata led the Central League
Central League
The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League...
in home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in both and and is one of the few pure home run hitters
Batting (baseball)
In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher...
in Japanese professional baseball today. He played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from August 13 to August 23. All games were played at Wukesong Baseball Field, a temporary venue constructed at the Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center...
as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic
2009 World Baseball Classic
The 2009 World Baseball Classic was an international baseball competition. It is the only international baseball tournament to feature a large number of players from the major leagues of North America and Asia. It began on March 5, 2009, and finished March 23, 2009.Japan emerged victorious for the...
as a member of the Japanese national team
Japan national baseball team
The Japan national baseball team is the national baseball team representing Japan in international competitions. They are one of the more successful baseball teams in the world, having won the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009...
and hit cleanup
Cleanup hitter
In baseball, the cleanup hitter is the hitter who bats fourth in the lineup. Although the third man up is generally the hitter with the highest batting average, cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best power hitter; their job is to "clean up the...
for much of the latter tournament.
Early life and high school career
Murata was born in Sasaguri, FukuokaSasaguri, Fukuoka
is a town located in Kasuya District, Fukuoka, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 30,418 and a density of 781.95 persons per km². The total area is 38.90 km².The town has three JR Sasaguri Line railway stations linking it to Hakata....
, a member of the age group often referred to as the Matsuzaka Generation
Matsuzaka Generation
The is a term used to collectively describe the baseball players that belong to current Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka's age group...
. He played for the Seto Bears, a local Little League team, in elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
and for the Kasuya
Kasuya, Fukuoka
is a town located in Kasuya District, Fukuoka, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 36,646 and a density of 2,595.33 persons per km². The total area is 14.12 km².-External links:*...
Phoenix in nearby Kasuya in junior high
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
.
Murata went on to Higashi Fukuoka
Fukuoka
Fukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.It can also refer to:-Locations:* Fukuoka, Gifu, a town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan* Fukuoka, Toyama, a town in Toyama Prefecture, Japan...
High School, leading the school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
to consecutive berths in national tournaments
High school baseball in Japan
In Japan, high school baseball generally refers to the two annual baseball tournaments played by high schools nationwide culminating at a final showdown at Hanshin Kōshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Japan...
in his senior year
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
as the team's ace pitcher
Ace (baseball)
In baseball, an ace is the best starting pitcher of any team and nearly always the first pitcher in his starting rotation. Barring injury or exceptional circumstances, an ace usually always starts on Opening Day...
. Armed with a 143 km/h (89 mph) fastball
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
, Murata carried his team to a 5-0 victory over Izumo
Izumo, Shimane
is a city located in Shimane, Japan. Izumo is known for Izumo soba noodles and the Izumo Taisha Shinto shrine.-Demographics:The modern city was founded on November 3, 1941....
Hokuryo Senior High School in their first game in the 70th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament
National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament
The National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament of Japan, commonly known as "Spring Kōshien" or "Senbatsu" , is an annual high school baseball tournament....
(Higashi Fukuoka High's first-ever appearance in the spring
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
tournament), but succumbed to Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
Senior High School in the next round, suffering a two-hit shutout at the hands of current Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka
Daisuke Matsuzaka
is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball in the United States. He previously played for the Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League. He was selected the MVP of the inaugural and the second World Baseball Classic, and is an Olympic bronze...
and giving up a home run to current Seibu Lions outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
Taketoshi Gotoh
Taketoshi Gotoh
is a Nippon Professional Baseball player for the Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League.-External links:...
. Though Murata's team secured a berth in the 80th National High School Baseball Championship
National High School Baseball Championship
The National High School Baseball Championship of Japan, commonly known as "Summer Kōshien" , is an annual nationwide high school baseball tournament...
held that very summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
, they lost to a current Orix Buffaloes
Orix Buffaloes
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Osaka and Kobe, Japan. They play in the Pacific League. The team is owned by the Orix Group, a leading diversified financial services company based in Tokyo....
outfielder Katsuaki Furuki-led Toyota
Toyota, Aichi
is a city located in the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of Nagoya.Toyota's main plant, the Tsutsumi plant, is located here. The longstanding ties between the Toyota Motor Corporation and the town of Toyota-shi, formerly known as Koromo, gave the town its current...
Otani High School in the first round.
Murata hit a total of 30 home runs during his high school career. Realizing that he "would never defeat Matsuzaka as long as [he] remained a pitcher", decided he would become a position player
Position player
In baseball, a position player is a player who on defense plays as an infielder, outfielder, or catcher. This is generally all players on a team except for the pitcher, who is considered separate from the position players; in the American League, there is also a designated hitter, who bats but...
upon enrolling in college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
. Among Murata's teammates at the time were then-junior
Eleventh grade
Eleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...
Kensuke Tanaka, who currently plays second base
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
for the Fighters, and catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
Ryuji Ohno, who played for the Fukuoka Daiei and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were...
from to .
College career
Murata enrolled in Nihon UniversityNihon University
Nihon University is the largest university in Japan. Akiyoshi Yamada, the minister of justice, founded Nihon Law School in October 1889....
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
as an economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
major
Academic major
In the United States and Canada, an academic major or major concentration is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits....
alongside his high school batterymate
Battery (baseball)
In baseball, the term battery refers collectively to the pitcher and the catcher, who may also be called batterymen or batterymates of one another.- History :...
Ohno and worked his way into the lineup
Batting order (baseball)
The batting order, or batting lineup, in baseball is the sequence in which the nine members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. The batting order is set by the manager before the game begins...
as the team's starting third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
, eventually developing into one of the league's
Sports league
League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...
more prominent sluggers.
In , his junior
Junior (education)
"Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...
year, Murata led his team to the finals
Final (competition)
The final of a competition is the match or round in which the winner of the entire event is decided.In sports competitions following a knockout system, where only two individuals or teams compete in each match, the final is usually played between the winners of two semi-finals...
of the All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series in June
June 2001
June 2001: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-June 1, 2001:* The popular Bratz, rival to the Barbie doll, debuts....
and was chosen to the Japanese team that would play in the 30th Japan-USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
University Baseball Championship Series to be held later that month
Month
A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, which was first used and invented in Mesopotamia, as a natural period related to the motion of the Moon; month and Moon are cognates. The traditional concept arose with the cycle of moon phases; such months are synodic months and last approximately...
. He tied a Tohto University Baseball League
Tohto University Baseball League
Tohto University Baseball League is an intercollegiate baseball league that features 21 prominent universities in the Tokyo area.- History :...
record for most home runs in a single season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...
(previously held by current Chiba Lotte Marines
Chiba Lotte Marines
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by the Lotte conglomerate.-History:...
second baseman Tadahito Iguchi
Tadahito Iguchi
is a Japanese second baseman currently playing for the Chiba Lotte Marines.-Early life and Japanese career:Iguchi began playing in high school and after graduating in 1993, went to Aoyama Gakuin University where he distinguished himself by hitting the Tohto University Baseball League record of...
) with eight that fall
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
.
Murata earned his second straight selection to the Japanese team prior to the 31st Japan-USA University Baseball Championship Series in the summer of his senior
Senior (education)
Senior is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the 4th year of study .-High school:...
year . He also played for the national team in the inaugural IBAF World University Baseball Championship
World University Baseball Championship
The World University Baseball Championship is an under-23 international college baseball competition sponsored by the International University Sports Federation and sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation , which was first held in 2002 in Italy...
held in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in August
August 2002
August 2002: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December- August 4, 2002 :...
, contributing to the team's bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
finish.
Murata hit .275 with 103 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
(tied for sixth all-time), 20 home runs (tied for second all-time) and 70 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
for his college
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
career, winning the Tohto University Baseball League Best Nine Award four times. He was signed as a pre-draft pick prior to the 2002 NPB amateur draft
Draft (sports)
A draft is a process used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Russia and the Philippines to allocate certain players to sports teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players...
held in the fall of his senior
Senior (education)
Senior is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the 4th year of study .-High school:...
year by the Yokohama BayStars. Ohno, who had played alongside Murata throughout high school and college, was drafted in the fifth round of the draft by the Hawks (he retired in 2007). Other notable college players selected in the same draft include Tsuyoshi Wada
Tsuyoshi Wada
is a left-handed starting pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.Wada pitched in the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as the 2006 World Baseball Classic for the Japanese national team...
and Nagisa Arakaki
Nagisa Arakaki
is a Japanese professional baseball player. He is currently with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Despite having one of the best fastballs and sliders of anyone in the league, Arakaki has battled control problems and injuries throughout his career...
(Hawks), Katsuhiro Nagakawa
Katsuhiro Nagakawa
is a Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Japan's Central League.-External links:...
(Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Hiroshima Toyo Carp
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder , which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family . Because of that,...
), Hirotaka Egusa
Hirotaka Egusa
is a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher.-External links:...
(Hanshin Tigers
Hanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...
) and Gotoh and Chikara Onodera
Chikara Onodera
is a closing pitcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Nippon Professional Baseball. His uniform number is 29.-External links:...
(Lions).
2003
Murata made the ichigun (JapaneseJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
equivalent of "major league") roster
Roster
A roster is a list of names of people involved with an organization of some kind.A roster can be a list of people and the times when they are required to work or a list of students in a classroom....
in the spring of his rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
season in the pros
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
, making his professional debut in the season opener against the Tigers on March 28, getting his first career hit
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
then-Yomiuri Giants
Yomiuri Giants
The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...
veteran Masumi Kuwata
Masumi Kuwata
Masumi Kuwata is a former Japanese right-handed pitcher. He was formerly with the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League. He pitched 21 seasons with the Giants, beginning in 1986. In December 2006 Masumi signed a minor league deal with the Pirates...
on April 1 and hitting his first home run off Giants left-hander Hisanori Takahashi
Hisanori Takahashi
is a Japanese Major League Baseball pitcher who is currently with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.-Career:-Nippon Professional Baseball:Takahashi previously spent his entire professional career with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball...
the next day. His first career stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
was a steal of home on a delayed double steal against the Carp on May 7.
In the first half of the season, Murata saw a significant amount of playing time at second base, despite having played third base almost exclusively during his college career, due to teammate Katsuaki Furuki's stronghold on third. He and Furuki started at their respective positions
Baseball positions
There are 9 fielding positions in baseball. Each position conventionally has an associated number which is used to score putouts...
until June
June 2003
June 2003: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-Events:-June 1, 2003:...
, with Murata being moved back to third when Furuki was converted to the outfield in the latter half of the season. He entered a slump in July
July 2003
July 2003: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-Events:-July 1, 2003:...
and was sent down to the nigun team ("minor league
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...
" or "farm team
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...
"), but hit 10 home runs in September
September 2003
September 2003: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-Events:-September 1, 2003:*Dutch dispensaries are to become the first in the world to offer cannabis as a prescription drug...
after being called up a second time, setting an NPB record for home runs hit in a single month by a rookie.
Though his campaign was cut short when he was hit
Hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...
by a pitch
Pitch (baseball)
In baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. The term comes from the Knickerbocker Rules. Originally, the ball had to be literally "pitched" underhand, as with pitching horseshoes. Overhand throwing was not allowed until 1884.The biomechanics of...
thrown by then-Yakult Swallows
Tokyo Yakult Swallows
is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei...
right-hander Katsutoshi Ishidoh on September 28, fracturing
Bone fracture
A bone fracture is a medical condition in which there is a break in the continuity of the bone...
his right ulna
Ulna
The ulna is one of the two long bones in the forearm, the other being the radius. It is prismatic in form and runs parallel to the radius, which is shorter and smaller. In anatomical position The ulna is one of the two long bones in the forearm, the other being the radius. It is prismatic in form...
, Murata finished with 25 home runs in just 104 games, good for sixth all-time in home runs hit as a rookie (he also finished with a batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of just .224 and an on-base percentage of .303).
2004
Murata began the season as the BayStars' starting third baseman and No. 5 hitter, but saw fewer starts as the season went on due to his spotty defense and abundance of strikeoutStrikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s, with then-manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Daisuke Yamashita opting to use veteran Hitoshi Taneda or Seiichi Uchikawa
Seiichi Uchikawa
Seiichi Uchikawa is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He rose to prominence in 2008 with a league-leading .378 batting average...
at third base instead. He often hit in the 7-hole after the All-Star
Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Game
The Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Game is an annual baseball game between players from the Central League and the Pacific League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
break, striking out less and improving on his on-base percentage but seeing a corresponding drop in his power numbers (home runs, slugging percentage).
2005
Murata spent the majority of the season as the BayStars' No. 7 hitter. However, despite getting his first career walk-off hit off then-closerCloser (baseball)
In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer , is a relief pitcher who specializes in closing out games, i.e., getting the final outs in a close game. Closers often appear when the score is close, and the role is often assigned to a team's best reliever. A small number of...
Masahide Kobayashi
Masahide Kobayashi
is a professional baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Orix Buffaloes.From -, Kobayashi played in the Nippon Professional Baseball league for the Chiba Lotte Marines...
in an interleague game against the Chiba Lotte Marines
Chiba Lotte Marines
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by the Lotte conglomerate.-History:...
on May 6, he struggled so much early on in the season that he even found himself slotted into the 9-hole for seven games during interleague play (in games hosted by Pacific League
Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series...
teams in which the designated hitter
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
rule was employed). He used the lineup
Batting order (baseball)
The batting order, or batting lineup, in baseball is the sequence in which the nine members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. The batting order is set by the manager before the game begins...
change as motivation, hitting a game-winning two-run
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
homer off reliever
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
Yasuhiko Yabuta
Yasuhiko Yabuta
is a Japanese baseball pitcher. He currently plays for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He competed in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and struck out Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, and Derrek Lee....
in a game against the Marines on May 28. He hit his first career grand slam
Grand slam (baseball)
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...
off Giants left-hander Tetsuya Utsumi
Tetsuya Utsumi
is a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball player in Japan's Central League. A left-handed pitcher, Utsumi is one of the better starters in the Yomiuri rotation. He garnered international attention in the 2008 preseason during an exhibition against the Boston Red Sox, who were playing exhibitions...
on June 22, finishing the year with a .252 average, 24 home runs and 82 RBI.
2006
Murata was chosen to the Nippon Professional Baseball All-StarsAll-star game
An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league, except in the circumstances of professional sports systems in which a democratic voting system is used...
that would face the Japanese national team in the exhibition game
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
s preceding the inaugural World Baseball Classic
2006 World Baseball Classic
---------Pool B:-------------Pool C:-------------Pool D:-------------Pool 1:-----------------Pool 2:-------------Finals:-Semifinals:-Final:-Final standings:...
in early , hitting a three-run home run off Daisuke Matsuzaka in Game 2 to lead the All-Stars to a 4-3 upset victory over the national team.
It turned out to be a breakout year for Murata, who began the season in the 7-hole but moved up to the No. 5 spot after center fielder
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
Hitoshi Tamura
Hitoshi Tamura
Hitoshi Tamura is a Japanese professional baseball player with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.-External links:...
was removed from the active roster due to injury. He made the first start as cleanup hitter
Cleanup hitter
In baseball, the cleanup hitter is the hitter who bats fourth in the lineup. Although the third man up is generally the hitter with the highest batting average, cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best power hitter; their job is to "clean up the...
of his career on June 1 in a game against the Hawks as a replacement for slumping first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
Takahiro Saeki, hitting the first walk-off home run
Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...
of his career off then-Buffaloes reliever Jun Hagiwara on June 9 in the eleventh inning and following up the feat with his second such shot off Tokyo Yakult Swallows reliever Masao Kida
Masao Kida
is a Japanese baseball pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. He played in Major League Baseball from -, and -.-Biography:Kida was drafted in the first round in , by the Yomiuri Giants, after graduating from the Nippon University high school. In , he won 12 games, recorded the most...
on June 30 in the tenth inning. He remained in the cleanup spot until the end of the season, finishing with a .266 average, 34 homers and 114 RBI (all career highs) as one of the few consistent sources of offensive
Offense (sports)
In sports, offense or offence , also known as attack, is the action of attacking or engaging an opposing team with the objective of scoring points or goals...
production on a team plagued by injuries all year. However, he also struck out 153 times, leading both Central and Pacific leagues in that category.
Murata was again named to the NPB All-Stars, this time to play in the Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series
Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series
The Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series is a set of games between All-Star teams from North America's Major League Baseball and Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. The series takes place every even numbered year in the Tokyo Dome and other NPB home stadiums...
, after the regular season. He batted cleanup in Game 4 and hit a solo home run off then-Anaheim Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
right-hander John Lackey
John Lackey
John Derran Lackey is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Lackey was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in 1999 and helped the franchise win its first World Series title in 2002, which was his first season in the major leagues...
in Game 5, going 4-for-15 (.267) with three RBI for the five-game series.
2007
Murata continued to develop as a hitter in 2007, playing all 144 regular season games as the starting third baseman and cleanup hitter and hitting over 30 home runs and driving in over 100 RBI for the second straight year. He hit his 100th career home run off Swallows ace Masanori Ishikawa on April 10 and showed improvement in his plate discipline, cutting his strikeouts from 153 to 177 and marking career highs in both on-base and slugging percentage (.376 and .553, respectively). Murata's decision to use a heavier 950-960 g (34 oz) batBaseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the game of baseball to hit the ball after the ball is thrown by the pitcher. It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches in length. It typically weighs no more than 33 ounces , but it...
in the second half of the season after hitting just 13 home runs at the All-Star break was particularly effective, allowing him to hit 23 homers after the break alone. He passed then-Chunichi Dragons
Chunichi Dragons
The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:...
slugger Tyrone Woods
Tyrone Woods
Tyrone Woods is a Nippon Professional Baseball first baseman who is currently a free agent. He was the 5th pick of the Montreal Expos in the MLB draft as a high school third baseman. His debut year showed no indication of the heights he would reach as a pro player...
, who had led him by eight homers at the end of August, and finished with 36 (one more than Swallows right fielder
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
Aaron Guiel
Aaron Guiel
Aaron Colin Guiel is a professional baseball outfielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He has also played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees .-Minor leagues and Mexico:...
), leading the Central League in home runs for the first time in his career.
Murata played in the Asian Baseball Championship
Asian Baseball Championship
The Asian Baseball Championship is the main championship tournament between national baseball teams in Asia, governed by the Baseball Federation of Asia . It is held every other year in odd-numbered years and since 1983 it also functions as the qualification games for the Baseball at the Summer...
as a member of the Japanese national team that December
December 2007
December 2007 was the twelfth month of that year. It began on a Saturday and, after 31 days, ended on a Monday.-Portal:Current events:...
, his first time playing on the national team.
2008
Murata cemented his role as the team's cleanup hitter in , hitting just .231 with six home runs in the month of AprilApril 2008
April 2008 was the fourth month of the leap year. It began on a Tuesday and ended after 30 days on a Wednesday.-International holidays and other major events:* April 1 – April Fools' Day...
but heating up in May
May 2008
May 2008 was the fifth month of that year. It began on a Thursday and ended after 31 days on a Saturday.-International holidays:*May 1**Holocaust Remembrance Day **May Day **Ascension Day **Labour Day in the following countries:...
and reaching the 30-homer plateau by the end of July
July 2008
July 2008 was the seventh month of the leap year. It began on a Tuesday and ended after 31 days on a Thursday.- International holidays :* July 1 – Canada Day * July 1 – July Morning * July 1 – Republic Day...
. He hit the third walk-off home run of his career off closer Alex Graman
Alex Graman
Alex Joseph Graman is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball and is currently their closer. He bats and throws left-handed.-College career:...
in the tenth inning of a game against the Saitama Seibu Lions on June 21 and homered in five straight games from July 15 to July 19 against the Carp and Giants, garnering selection to the national team for the upcoming Beijing Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. Even though he missed two-and-a-half weeks of the season due to the Olympics, Murata managed to reach 40 homers for the first time in his career on September 14.
Murata finished the season with a .323 average, 46 homers (a franchise record) and 114 RBI, hitting over .300 for the first time in his career and leading the league in home runs for the second straight year (finishing just one ahead of Giants slugger Alex Ramírez
Alex Ramírez
Alexander Ramón Ramírez is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who currently plays for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates...
). He became the first Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
-born player to lead the Central League in home runs in back-to-back seasons since current Dragons manager Hiromitsu Ochiai
Hiromitsu Ochiai
Hiromitsu Ochiai is a former Japanese professional baseball player. He is currently manager of the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball...
accomplished the feat for the Dragons in and and also led the league in slugging percentage (.665) and on-base plus slugging
On-base plus slugging
On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League...
(1.062). However, despite his offensive production, the BayStars finished dead last in the Central League with a 48-94 record, most likely playing a factor in Murata's finishing just seventh in Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
voting and receiving only two first-place votes (Ramírez, who hit .319 with 45 homers and 125 RBI, won the award).
2009
Murata began the season with the farm team, unable to play due to a torn left hamstringHamstring
In human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...
suffered while running the bases during the World Baseball Classic
World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and created by Major League Baseball , the Major League Baseball Players Association , and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world...
held in March
March 2009
March 2009 was the third month of that year. It began on a Sunday and ended after 31 days on a Tuesday.-Portal:Current events:This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from March 2009....
. However, while it was initially reported that he would be out roughly six weeks and that his return to the active roster would be no earlier than May
May 2009
May 2009 was the fifth month of that year. It began on a Friday and ended after 31 days on a Sunday.-Events:* May 12–25 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis conducted the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope....
, Murata recovered from the injury at an astonishing pace, playing in a minor league game against the Marines on April 15 (just two weeks after the season opener) as the designated hitter and homering in his first at-bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
. He was added to the active roster and returns as the cleanup on April 21, getting his first hit of the season in a game against the Swallows on April 24 and his first home run off Tigers reliever Ryo Watanabe on April 29. He earned a walk-off hit by pitch against the Giants on May 13 in a 9-8 win. He hit his 200th career home run on 28 July against Tigers. On August 7, he torn his right hamstring after the game against the Chunichi Dragons
Chunichi Dragons
The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:...
, although he was expected to be sit out for the remaining season, he recovered again and managed to return to the starting lineup as the cleanup hitter on 21 September's game against the Hanshin Tigers.
2007 Asian Baseball Championship
Murata's first stint with the Japanese national team came in the 2007 Asian Baseball Championship2007 Asian Baseball Championship
The 24th Asian Baseball Championship was contested in Taichung, Taiwan in November and December 2007. The tournament is sanctioned by the Asian Baseball Federation. The winner of the tournament will gain automatic entry into the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing...
(which also functioned as the Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n qualifying tournament for the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
) held in Taichung
Taichung
-Demographics:Taichung’s population was an estimated 1,040,725 in August 2006. There are slightly more females in the city than males.24.32% of residents are children, while 16.63% are young people, 52.68% are middle-age, and 6.73% are elderly....
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. He went 4-for-9 (.444) in three games, helping Japan win the tournament and clinch a berth in the upcoming Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
.
2008 Beijing Olympics
Murata was chosen to play in the 2008 Beijing Olympics amidst high expectations for a Japanese national team that consisted entirely of professional players. However, he came down with a severe coldCommon cold
The common cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system, caused primarily by rhinoviruses and coronaviruses. Common symptoms include a cough, sore throat, runny nose, and fever...
and had to be hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
ized in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in early August
August 2008
August 2008 was the eighth month of the leap year. It began on a Friday and ended after 31 days on a Sunday.-References:...
, keeping him from taking part in team practices prior to departing for Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and temporarily weakening his dynamic visual acuity. Japan's disappointing fourth-place finish behind South Korea, Cuba
Cuba national baseball team
The Cuba national baseball team is the national team of Cuba. The team is made up of amateur players from the Cuban national baseball system, as there are no professional sports leagues in Cuba...
and the United States
United States national baseball team
The United States National Baseball team represents the United States in international baseball competition. The United States has won the previous two Baseball World Cups, having lost this title to the Netherlands in 2011, and is currently second in the IBAF World Rankings, behind Cuba.The team...
prompted sharp criticism of manager Senichi Hoshino
Senichi Hoshino
, 22 January 1947, is a former Japanese professional baseball player and current manager.In 2003, he led the Tigers to their first Central League pennant in 18 years before retiring for health reasons. Since 2007, He had managed the Japanese national team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.In October,...
by the Japanese media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, who had opted to start Murata in eight of the team's nine games despite his clearly not being in good health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
and hitting just 2-for-23 (.087) with one double
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
(55th of all 58 qualifying players in batting average) during the tournament.
2009 World Baseball Classic
In early 2009, Murata was chosen to play in the World Baseball Classic as a member of the national team, his first opportunity to redeem himself after an abysmal showing in the Olympics the previous summer. He hit a two-run home run in Japan's 4-0 win over ChinaChina national baseball team
The China national baseball team is the national representative team of the People's Republic of China.-Olympic Games:China secured qualification to the 2008 Summer Olympics automatically as host nation, giving the country its first Olympics berth....
on March 5 as the team's No. 5 hitter and another three-run homer in their 14-2 mercy rule
Mercy rule
A mercy rule, also well known by the slightly less polite term slaughter rule , brings a sports event to an early end when one team has a very large and presumably insurmountable lead over the other team...
clubbing of South Korea on March 7 as the cleanup hitter, hitting .320 and driving in seven runs in the first seven games of the tournament.
However, Murata injured himself while rounding first base in the fourth inning of Japan's seeding match against South Korea in the second round
2009 World Baseball Classic - Round 2
The second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic took place between March 15 and March 19, 2009 at PETCO Park in San Diego and Dolphin Stadium in Miami. Like the first round, the second round was a double-elimination tournament...
held in San Diego on March 19, tearing his right hamstring
Hamstring
In human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...
. Though Japan went on to become tournament champions in the final round played in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Murata was forced to return to Japan early. He was presented his gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
by manager Tatsunori Hara
Tatsunori Hara
is the current manager for the Yomiuri Giants baseball team in Nippon Professional Baseball. He also played for the Yomiuri Giants during his professional baseball career from to . Hara led the Japan national baseball team to victory in the final of the 2009 World Baseball Classic.- External links :...
upon the team's return to Tokyo on March 25.
Hitting
Listed at 177 cm (69.7 in) and 87 kg (191.8 lb), Murata is a stocky, if not particularly tall, hitter. While he fits the description of a prototypical power hitter in that he hits many home runs but also strikes out often, he is also well known for his exceptional opposite fieldOpposite field
Opposite field is a baseball term that refers to the area of the outfield that faces the hitter, which would be right field for a right-hander and left field for a left-hander...
power, a trait that Murata refers to as "pulling the ball to right field
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
". While he left much to be desired in his plate discipline early in his career, he has improved his batting average as well as his on-base percentage virtually every season of his career and has developed into one of the most dangerous hitters in all of Japanese professional baseball.
Fielding
While Murata has a strong throwing arm and shows good instincts at third base, he leaves room for improvement on the defensive end. He has made strides in his glovework since coming into the league but is still prone to mistakes, leading the league in errorsError (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
in both 2007 (18) and 2008 (16). Murata has seen time at both second and first base in the pros, playing 65 games at second in 2003, his rookie season, and one game at first in 2004. He played first base in the seeding match in the second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic (Giants slugger Michihiro Ogasawara
Michihiro Ogasawara
Michihiro Ogasawara is a Japanese professional baseball player. He currently plays first base for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan's Central League . He played with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters from to .-Career:Ogasawara is one of the most consistent hitters in Japanese baseball...
took his place after he was injured).
Career statistics
| Nippon Professional Baseball | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Team | G Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,... |
AB At bat In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance... |
R Run (baseball) In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured... |
H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice.... |
2B Double (baseball) In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... |
3B Triple (baseball) In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... |
HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process... |
TB Total bases In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total.... |
RBI Run batted in Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI... |
SB Stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate... |
AVG Batting average Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :... |
OBP | SLG | OPS On-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League... |
| 22 | Yokohama Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium.... |
104 | 330 | 48 | 74 | 11 | 0 | 25 | 160 | 56 | 3 | .224 | .303 | .485 | .788 | |
| 23 | 116 | 326 | 43 | 79 | 17 | 0 | 15 | 141 | 38 | 2 | .242 | .325 | .433 | .758 | ||
| 24 | 136 | 477 | 60 | 120 | 32 | 2 | 24 | 228 | 82 | 1 | .252 | .326 | .478 | .804 | ||
| 25 | 145 | 545 | 83 | 145 | 30 | 3 | 34 | 283 | 114 | 1 | .266 | .325 | .519 | .844 | ||
| 26 | 144 | 526 | 94 | 151 | 30 | 1 | 36 | 291 | 101 | 1 | .287 | .376 | .553 | .929 | ||
| 27 | 132 | 489 | 89 | 158 | 25 | 2 | 46 | 325 | 114 | 0 | .323 | .397 | .665 | 1.062 | ||
| 28 | 21 | 78 | 9 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 37 | 14 | 0 | .256 | .318 | .474 | .792 | ||
| Career | 798 | 2771 | 426 | 747 | 147 | 8 | 185 | 1465 | 519 | 8 | .270 | .345 | .529 | .874 | ||
Bold indicates league leader; statistics current as of 16 May 2009
External links
- Shuichi Murata Official Blog (Ameblo) (Japanese)
- Shuichi Murata Official Blog by Diamond Blog (Japanese)