Olympic gold medallist Munetaka Murakami becomes youngest player to reach NPB 200 home runs
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<p>Munetaka Murakami hit his 200th career home run with an eighth inning solo shot off Hiroshima Toyo Carp reliever Takuya Yasaki on Wednesday, 15 May, at Matsuyama Botchan Stadium in Ehime Prefecture. He led the Yakult Swallows to a <a href="https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=bce7959204881098&q=Npb+results+yesterday&uds=ADvngMiDXIDDCkvlvpIoFWU7jBrYZvH7eEhh30rRJByBO2KPIiWE89C1m-35JyzU3PLOOCv1CvcuBUQOopwYs5XNb8nF_q2lysaTiPvXzpb9mZQj0kXoj6HlhsTtm9fp6z-eRRWvuAFcKAXRsxwmu8AgLTvClW-VryQ1jVO5rkYRfy3qjhKI5XOAGLLjatWZAjCKU17EDBvK_CCTq22zWk7tHXNmMbHmqqs5UZePWTNhD1Iv9c2wg2QZ7shp-MNEurCF6vUHF1Xa7xbJCnXNnwsC1TrSv7AWInE8nRhVtUqLlaY3AUR0v9jDoxrfwAkpZLTNRjyphp8M&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiS-4KF-JGGAxUU9gIHHaaPASAQxKsJegQICRAB&ictx=0&biw=1280&bih=607&dpr=1#sie=m;/g/11vsq18kyn;4;/m/012xwy;dt;fp;1;;;" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="2-0 (opens in a new tab)">2-0</a> win.</p>
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<p>"It hasn't really sunk in. It's only a stop along the way, and I'll be working harder to hit more," Murakami said to the Kyodo News agency.</p>
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<p>Murakami, 24 years and 103 days, became the youngest player to reach the 200-home-run milestone in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He surpassed the record set by Kazuhiro Kiyohara of the Seibu Lions, who was 25 when he hit his 200th in 1992.</p>
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<p>Born in 2000, Murakami holds the <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/olympic-gold-medalist-munetaka-murakami-surpasses-sadaharu-oh-single-season-home-run-record" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="single-season home run record (opens in a new tab)">single-season home run record</a> (56) for a Japanese-born player.</p>
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<p>Murakami was Japan's starting third baseman at the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Tokyo 2020 Olympics (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2021-baseball-olympic-games/teams/1795/players/74827" target="_blank">Tokyo 2020 Olympics</a>. He went 5-for-15 with three runs batted in in five games. He hit his only home run in the gold medal game against the United States.</p>
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<p>The third baseman was also instrumental in Samurai Japan's successful <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/japan-win-world-baseball-classic-confirm-their-domination">World Baseball Classic</a> campaign in March 2023.</p>
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<p>Murakami recently represented Japan in the Global Baseball Games against Team Europe. He played DH and batted cleanup in the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="first game (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/global-baseball-games-japan-europe-game-1" target="_blank">first game</a> and started at third base in <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/global-baseball-games-japan-europe-game-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="the second (opens in a new tab)">the second</a>.</p>
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