Shohei Ohtani has made Major League Baseball history but it was Masanori Murakami who laid the groundwork 60 years ago when he became the first Japanese player in MLB. Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Ohtani last week became the first player ever to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season to add to his growing list of achievements. The 30-year-old is a baseball great in the making and hugely popular both at home in Japan and in the United States.
All that may not have been possible without compatriot Murakami, who in September 1964 made his debut for the San Francisco Giants and had to defy abuse from opposing fans, with World War II still fresh in people's minds. Now 80 and with a twinkle in his eye, Murakami says Ohtani is a "model" baseball player and the perfect ambassador for Japan. "Lots of American people want to come to Japan to visit," he told AFP at an exhibition of his baseball memorabilia in Yokohama.
"Ohtani is worth as much to Japanese-American friendship as thousands of everyday people. I think everyone in the world loves him. "Who doesn't love him? Only opposing teams' batters.
" Not since the legendary Babe Ruth 100 years ago has there been a player capable of pitching and hitting on a regular basis like Ohtani, although he is concentrating only on batting in his first season with the Dodgers. Ohtani joined the team from the Los Angeles Angels last year on a 10-year deal worth $700 million, the richest contract in American sports history. Things we.