Japanese media such as “Sports Hochi” and “Sponichi Annex” reported Murakami’s reaction to the news of Ohtani’s achievement of the milestone. Ohtani opened the door of the first 50-50 club in the Major League with an incredible performance of 6 at-bats, 3 home runs, 10 RBIs and 2 steals against the Miami Marlins on the 20th (Korea time).
According to the media, Murakami said, “When I woke up in the morning and opened my cell phone, I found that (the record) was achieved,” adding, “It proved that even the Japanese can do it. Even the U.S. players have achieved a record that they have not achieved. (Otani) is truly respectable.”

Asked about the difficulty of doing both home runs and stolen bases, he said, “Japan and the United States have different numbers and rules, but first of all, it’s really hard to survive a season without injury,” stressing that Ohtani has made a really difficult record to achieve.토토사이트

Murakami is currently one of the best big guns representing the NPB. Murakami, who joined Yakult as the top draft pick in 2017 and made his debut in the first division in 2018, won the rookie of the year award by ranking third in the home run and RBI category of the Central League with 36 home runs and 96 RBIs in 2019, his first full-time season.

Murakami, who showed rapid growth in his debut in 2020 with a batting average of .307, 28 homers and 86 RBIs, and 39 homers and his first 100 RBIs (112 RBIs) in 2021, won the Central League MVP title by winning three gold medals with a batting average of .318 56 homers and 134 RBIs in 141 games in 2022. 56 homers were the highest number of homers in a single season by a Japanese player, surpassing Sadaharu Oh’s record of 55 homers in 1964.

Based on his stellar performance, Murakami was also listed on the Japanese national team roster for the 2023 World Baseball Organization (WBC). Although Murakami received high expectations by securing the fourth batter’s box among prominent players, he has come under fire as he suffered a slump of 0.235 in batting average (four hits in 17 times at bat) through the quarterfinals. However, he made a triumphant comeback by hitting a finishing timely hit in the ninth inning against Mexico, and hit a tying home run against Merrill Kelly in the final against the U.S., contributing to Japan’s overall win.

According to Japanese media, Murakami was shocked when he saw Ohtani’s batting training during the WBC competition, and after seeing Ohtani sign a 700 million dollar contract with the Dodgers, he said, “He has elevated my goal to the next level. I want to go to the Major League even more. I want to advance to the Major League as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Murakami, who had 31 home runs last year (2023), gave up the Central League home run king position to Kazuma Okamoto (41 home runs, Yomiuri Giants) with 28 home runs this season, beating Okamoto with 25 home runs.