Shinichi Murakami

Shinichi Murakami (村上 眞一)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 160 lb.

• High School Inba High School

• Born July 13, 1963 in Kashiwa, Chiba Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shinichi Murakami played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Murakami was signed by the Hankyu Braves in 1981 after he went undrafted in the 1981 NPB draft, and he spent his first two seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues. He debuted against the Nankai Hawks on August 9, and he crushed a home run against Shinichi Kato in his first at-bat. Murakami blasted another homer against Yoshio Fukazawa on August 16, and he became the first player in NPB history to hit a homer as a pinch-hitter in his first two career at-bats. Murakami ended up hitting .256/.310/.564 in 22 games in his first season, and he went 1-for-2 in the 1984 Nippon Series. The Braves lost to the Hiroshima Carp in 7 games.

When Mineo Fukuhara struggled in 1985, Murakami became Hankyu's starting second baseman, and he hit .216/.326/.307 in 84 games. He only got 26 at-bats combined for the top team in the next two seasons, and he recorded a .220/.285/.301 batting line in 16 games in 1988. He was 1-for-14 in 1989, and he hit .302/.420/.450 with 5 homers in 112 games in 1990, serving as the starting first baseman because Boomer Wells was injured. Murakami slumped to .121/.216/.121 in 1991, and his batting line was .275/.328/.404 in 1992. He went 9-for-19 in 1993, and he had a 11-for-47 record in 1994. Murakami stayed in the minors in the next two seasons, and he announced his retirement in 1996.

Overall, Murakami hit .251/.342/.381 with 188 hits and 18 homers in 11 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan