Masanori Murakami
Masanori Murakami (Born May 6, 1944 in Otsuki, Japan) was a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. He is notable for being the first Japanese player ever to play for a Major League team, preceding the well known Hideo Nomo by over 30 years. Sent over to the US by the Nankei Hawks, Murakami saw success as a reliever for the Giants, debuting at the age of 20 in 1964. In 1965, He struck out over 1 batter per inning pitched, posted an ERA under 4 and earned 8 saves. Following this season, however, Murakami headed back to his original Japanese club due to contractual obligations, where he continued his success for another 17 years. External links MLB.com article on Murakami 1964-65 statistics at Baseball Reference
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