{"id":10251,"date":"2011-01-31T12:16:52","date_gmt":"2011-01-31T19:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seamheads.com\/?p=10251"},"modified":"2011-01-31T12:51:13","modified_gmt":"2011-01-31T19:51:13","slug":"before-ichiro-masanori-murakami","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2011\/01\/31\/before-ichiro-masanori-murakami\/","title":{"rendered":"Before Ichiro: Masanori Murakami"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> Ichiro Suzuki, of the Seattle Mariners, has established himself as one of the most reliable players in Major League Baseball.\u00c2\u00a0 In 2009, the Japanese sensation broke a 108-year-old mark of eight straight 200-hit \u00c2\u00a0seasons set by Wee Willie Keeler in 1901.\u00c2\u00a0 Since his rookie season, the incomparable Ichiro has tormented \u00c2\u00a0MLB pitchers by amassing hits in every conceivable manner from legging out infield hits, slapping pitches to \u00c2\u00a0the opposite field, and even a few occasions on bounced pitches.\u00c2\u00a0 The ten-time American League All-Star has compiled a lifetime .331 batting average and amassed 2244 hits.\u00c2\u00a0 In 2004, Suzuki set an all-time MLB record \u00c2\u00a0of 262 hits breaking George Sisler\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s old \u00c2\u00a0mark of \u00c2\u00a0257 hits in 1920.\u00c2\u00a0 Ichiro has accomplished all of these feats despite playing the first nine seasons of his professional career for the Orix Blue Wave of \u00c2\u00a0the Japanese Central \u00c2\u00a0League.\u00c2\u00a0 At his current pace, Ichiro will surpass the 3000 hit plateau during the 2014 campaign. \u00c2\u00a0Baseball fans everywhere should come out and watch this all-time \u00c2\u00a0great exhibit \u00c2\u00a0his legendary batting skills and who \u00c2\u00a0knows, you might just witness something that you have never \u00c2\u00a0seen before.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Long before Ichiro became a household name, a left-handed screwball pitcher paved the way for future Japanese players. Masanori Murakami became the first Japanese player ever in Major League Baseball.\u00c2\u00a0 He debuted in September 1964 for the San Francisco Giants at the age of 20.\u00c2\u00a0 Earlier in the season, the Nankai Hawks of the Japanese Pacific League sent him to the San Francisco Giants Class A Fresno team as a baseball exchange player.\u00c2\u00a0 Originally, Masanori was suppose to return to the Hawks in June but the team never called.\u00c2\u00a0 Murakami remained under contract with the Giants organization for the remainder of the 1964 season and pitched exceedingly well during his September debut.\u00c2\u00a0 An off-season dispute between the two teams resulted it the Japanese baseball commissioner making the final decision. The commissioner ruled that Murakami would return to the Hawks following the 1965 with the Giants.\u00c2\u00a0 It would take another thirty years for another Japanese player to cross the Pacific when Hideo Nomo debuted for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ichiro Suzuki, of the Seattle Mariners, has established himself as one of the most reliable players in Major League Baseball.\u00c2\u00a0 In 2009, the Japanese sensation broke a 108-year-old mark of eight straight 200-hit \u00c2\u00a0seasons set by Wee Willie Keeler in 1901.\u00c2\u00a0 Since his rookie season, the incomparable Ichiro has tormented \u00c2\u00a0MLB pitchers by amassing hits […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":773,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2005,11468,1446],"class_list":["post-10251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-ichiro-suzuki","tag-masanori-murakami","tag-seattle-mariners"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t