No matter how poorly he performs, ‘30 home runs’ seems to have become the norm.
Yakult Swallows’ ‘monster hitter’ Munetaka Murakami (23) hit 30 home runs for three consecutive years. He hit his 30th home run of the season in a home game against the Yokohama Baystars held at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo on the 16th. On the 14th, in the Hiroshima Carp match, he hit No. 29 and activated the cannon after two games.
Second at-bat in the bottom of the 4th inning with the score tied 2-2. With one out and no runner on base, he faced Yokohama left-hander Kenta Ishida. In 1B, Ishida threw a low course fastball in the middle of the strike zone and flew it into the stands on the left side of Jingu Stadium.토토사이트
Yakult, whose four center hitters hit four home runs, won 6-3.
The home run pace has picked up steam ahead of the end of the season. He hit a home run in 3 consecutive games against Hiroshima on the 12th to 14th, and hit 4 home runs in the last 5 games. He is in second place, 10 behind Kazuma Okamoto (27) of the Yomiuri Giants, who was silent on this day.
This is the 30th home run for the third consecutive year, following 39 in 2021 and 56 in 2022. He surpassed 30 home runs in a season a total of 4 times, including 36 home runs in 2019. A total of 190 home runs.
In an interview with Japanese media, Murakami said, “I want to hit at least one more hit in the remaining season.”
Throughout this season, he has not been able to show the explosive batting skills of last year. In the WBC (World Baseball Classic) held last March, he played as the number 4 hitter in all group stage games, but suffered from severe batting difficulties and handed over the number 4 hitter to his senior Masataka Yoshida (30, Boston Red Sox).
He restored his pride by hitting a home run in the semifinals against Mexico, but the trauma of the international competition was severe.
His sluggishness continued even immediately after the opening of the regular season. Although he consistently produced home runs, including hitting his first home run in the opening game, he lacked impact as the number four hitter. In 24 games last April, he had a batting average of just 1.52 ERA, 1 home run, and 10 RBI.
Last year, Murakami recorded a batting average of .318 (155 hits in 487 at-bats), 56 home runs, and 134 RBI, becoming the youngest player at age 22 to win three batting awards. He surpassed the legendary Oh Sadaharu (Wang Jeong-chi) and set a new record for the most home runs in a season by a Japanese hitter.
This year, before Yokohama on the 16th, he had a batting average of .205, 6 ri, 30 home runs, and 79 RBI.Yakult, which had aimed to win the league for three consecutive years, also continued to fall. They fell to Class B (4th to 6th out of 6 teams) early on and failed to rebound. 5th place is certain ahead of the end of the regular season.