Yakult Swallows Murakami Munetaka (23) talked about the moment he was selected for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team.
Japanese media Nikkan Sports reported on the 25th, “Murakami expressed his feelings about being selected for the national team after finishing his first CF shoot.”
Murakami is a representative home run hitter with a batting average of .281 (543 hits in 1934 at-bats), 160 homers, 430 RBIs, and an OPS of .988 in 553 Japanese professional baseball games. Last year, he recorded a batting average of 3.18 li (155 hits in 487 bats), 56 homers, 134 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.168 in 141 games, achieving the triple crown and breaking a new Japanese record for most homers.
Japan, which is trying to win the title for the first time in 14 years since 2009, has a large number of major league hitters such as Shohei Ohtani (Angels), Seiya Suzuki (Cubs), Masataka Yoshida (Boston), and Lars Nuthba (St. Louis) joining the national team. Murakami is expected to be placed in the center of the batting line without being pushed aside even among these outstanding hitters.
Murakami said, “Director Hideki Kuriyama called me and said, ‘Please carry Japan on your back and fight. He thought he had to do his best to win the championship,” he said, looking back at the time coach Kuriyama announced his selection for the national team and strengthened his determination.
Murakami, who set a goal of “continuous evolution in the future,” said, “I am always aiming for new photos,” and pledged to continue to grow without being complacent.
Japan was placed in Group B along with Korea, Australia, China and the Czech Republic at the WBC to be held in March. 메이저놀이터 Because the first round is held in Tokyo, Japan, the home ground, it is evaluated that Japan has the advantage in terms of environment as well as the strongest objective power.
The Korea-Japan match between fateful rivals Korea and Japan will be held on March 10th. It is the first WBC match between Korea and Japan in 14 years since the 2009 final. From the perspective of Korea, which is trying to overturn the evaluation that it is inferior in power, Murakami is one of the batters to be most wary of.