“2025 will be the last season in Japan.”
Murakami Munetaka (24, Yakult Swallows), a monster hitter in the Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB), officially declared his challenge to the Major League Baseball (ML).
The Yakult club officially announced on its official website on the 2nd that it has signed a salary contract for the 2025 season worth 600 million yen (about 5.6 billion won) with Murakami.
This year, Murakami posted a disappointing batting average of 0.244, 33 homers, 86 RBIs and 82 runs scored, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 0.472OPS of 0.851. However, he also rebounded by ranking first in the home run, RBI and scoring categories. He suffered a fractured right big toe in the final game of this season and is currently undergoing rehabilitation.
Through his team, Murakami said, “I decided to play for Yakult for one more year. Right now, I’m only thinking about playing for this team and leading it to victory. I want to take a moment to reflect on myself. It’s good to set a high goal, but there were times when I missed myself. That’s why I want to gain confidence in my play and hitting now. My goal for next season is to win the Japanese series and become the best in Japan.”
Murakami, who was designated by Yakult as the No. 1 Japanese professional baseball rookie draft player in 2017, took over as the main player from the 2019 season. He won the Central League Rookie of the Year in 2019 with 36 home runs and 96 RBIs in 143 games, and 토토사이트 꽁머니 has shot more than 20 home runs for six consecutive years so far this year. As a result, he became the youngest Korean, U.S. and Japanese player to have 200 home runs at the age of 24 years, 3 months and 13 days in a home game against Hiroshima Toyokaf on May 15.
“Career High” was the year 2022 when Japan’s professional baseball home run category peaked. Murakami played in 141 games during the 2022 season and recorded a batting average of 0.318, 56 homers, 134 RBIs and 114 runs, and an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of 0.458 OPS of 0.710 OPS of 1.168. He became the first player in the history of professional baseball to hit a home run in five consecutive at-bats, beating NPB legend Wang Jeong-gi (Sadaharu Oh) to become the star of the most homeruns in a single season among Japanese players.
He also showed off his competitive edge on the international stage, drawing attention from scouts in the Major League. He beat the U.S. to win the gold medal and the title at both the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Notably, he had a finishing double against Mexico in the semifinal, and displayed the prowess of the cleanup hitter by hitting a home run in the final against the U.S.
In September this year, he signed an agent contract with Casey Close, who was the agent of New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter and helped Masahiro Tanaka (Rakuten Golden Eagles) advance to the U.S. At the end of next season, Murakami will be 25 years old and can sign a contract equivalent to an FA rather than an international amateur contract. He is different from Shohei Ohtani (aged 30, LA Dodgers) in 2018 and Rocky Sasaki (aged 23, Chiba Lotte Marines), who applied for posting this year.
Murakami said, “I think all major league challenges depend on what Japan has shown. I want to thank Yakult and make everyone happy at the end. I want to make a record where everyone can laugh,” revealing his ambition to become a major league player.