Swallows’ Murakami hits 56th homer, breaks Oh’s record
20:44 JST, October 3, 2022
TOKYO (AP) — In a season of home run milestones in American baseball by Albert Pujols and Aaron Judge, 22-year-old Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami has also gotten into the act.
Murakami, playing for the Tokyo-based Yakult Swallows, hit his 56th home run of the season on Monday, pushing him alone into second place on the single-season list. It was the Swallows’ last regular-season game.
The hit came in the seventh inning against the DeNA Bay Stars at the Swallows’ Jingu Stadium.
Murakami passed Japan’s career home run leader Sadaharu Oh, Tuffy Rhodes, and Alex Cabrera, who all hit 55 in a season.
Wladimir Balentien holds the Nippon Professional Baseball’s record of 60 home runs in a season, which he set with the Swallows in 2013.
Oh hit 55 home runs for the Yomiuri Giants in 1964, Rhodes did it with the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 2001, and Cabrera matched it with the Seibu Lions in 2002.
Murakami had gone 13 games without a home run after hitting his 54th and 55th on Sept. 13.
"News Services" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Dollar Edges Lower, Yen at 34-year Trough
-
Japan’s Nikkei Climbs 1.5% as Investors Scoop Up Beaten-Down Stocks (Update 1)
-
Japan Visitors Exceed 3 Mln in March, a Monthly Record, Tourism Agency Says
-
EU Ratchets up Pressure on TikTok’s New Rewards App over Risks to Kids, Warns of Suspension
-
Japan’s Nikkei Ends 1% Higher after Sharp Fall; Chip-Related Shares Weigh (Update 1)
JN ACCESS RANKING
- China Mutes Memorialization of Reformer Hu Yaobang; Memories Could Spark Critique of Xi Administration
- Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers
- U.S. 7th Fleet officer Arrested on Suspicion of Stealing Sushi, Sashimi, Chicken at Kanagawa Shopping Mall; Suspect Caught Mid-Meal
- UNRWA Director Describes Catastrophic Destruction in Gaza; Says Relief Trucks Robbed, ‘People’s Hearts Destroyed’
- JAL Airplane Experiences Radio Malfunction During Flight, Lands Safely By Relying on Light Signals