Masanori Murakami

Masanori Murakami
村上雅則
Masanori Murakami; 村上雅則
	Murakami with the San Francisco Giants in 1964, at Wrigley Field, Chicago
	Pitcher
	Born: May 6, 1944; Ōtsuki, Yamanashi, Empire of Japan
	Batted: Left Threw: Left
Professional debut
	NPB: June 1, 1963, for the Nankai Hawks
	MLB: September 1, 1964, for the San Francisco Giants
Last appearance
	MLB: October 1, 1965, for the San Francisco Giants
	NPB: October 3, 1982, for the Nippon Ham Fighters
NPB statistics
Win–loss record	103–82
Earned run average	3.64
Strikeouts	758
Saves	30
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	5–1
Earned run average	3.43
Strikeouts	100
Saves	9
	Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
	Nankai Hawks (1963); San Francisco Giants (1964–1965); Nankai Hawks (1966–1974); Hanshin Tigers (1975); Nippon-Ham Fighters (1976–1982);
Career highlights and awards
	First Japanese-born player in Major League Baseball;

Masanori Murakami (村上雅則, Murakami Masanori, born May 6, 1944), nicknamed "Mashi", is a Japanese former baseball pitcher. He is notable for being the first Japanese player to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Sent over to the United States by the Nankai Hawks, Murakami saw success as a reliever for the San Francisco Giants, debuting at the age of 20 in 1964. In 1965, he struck out over one batter per inning pitched, posted an ERA under 4 and earned eight saves. Following this season, however, Murakami headed back to the Nankai Hawks due to contractual obligations, where his success continued for another 17 years.