OT: Ohtani

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by BobC

Funny how with all this talk about who was first, not a soul has even mentioned Masanori Murakami. Always liked his 1965 Topps rookie card.

And before all you naysayers start jumping in and going on about how he didn't cause more Japanese players to suddenly start coming to the U.S. and playing in the majors, that isn't my point. It is simply that he was the first, and as such, he does deserve some recognition.

I don't know anything about Murakami. Was he highly touted at the time? Was he a top pitcher in Japan? Enquiring minds want to know.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

I don't know anything about Murakami. Was he highly touted at the time? Was he a top pitcher in Japan? Enquiring minds want to know.

Not sure of how he was playing in Japan, but look at his MLB stats. He was clearly not anywhere near what I would consider a bust.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/p...urakma01.shtml

[seanofjapan]

Murakami had a succesful career in NPB after returning to Japan, pitching until 1982. Not HOF level, but good. He is still alive and has had a long broadcasting career here.

A big difference between him and Nomo is that his NPB team actually sent him to the US, expecting him to just get some experience in the minors and not thinking he would make the majors. Then he showed them and actually made it.

With Nomo on the other hand his team and NPB fought tooth and nail to prevent him from playing in the US.

They both have quite interesting stories, but very different ones.

[itjclarke]

Pretty cool seeing Ohtani strike out teammate Mike Trout to secure another WBC for Japan.

[seanofjapan]

Originally Posted by itjclarke

Pretty cool seeing Ohtani strike out teammate Mike Trout to secure another WBC for Japan.

For sure. If a novelist had written that ending, nobody would have believed something like that would happen in real life. Absolutely amazing.

[brianp-beme]

I saw the last few innings...the whole 9th inning buildup of Ohtani coming in to pitch the 9th was really just the stuff that legends are created from, and striking out Trout cementing it forever in baseball lore. I imagine the whole of Japan is just going nuts over it.

I believe this year's WBC has really jumped up several notches in importance in baseball fans minds, especially those from the United States, and has a shot at becoming somewhat of a World Cup-like event from here on out (of course still at a lower global level than the World Cup).

Brian