Shoki Murakami
| Shōki Murakami | |
|---|---|
 Murakami with the Hanshin Tigers | |
| Hanshin Tigers – No. 41 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: June 25, 1998 Mihara District, Hyōgo, Japan | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
| NPB debut | |
| May 30, 2021, for the Hanshin Tigers | |
| Career statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 17-18 |
| Earned Run Average | 2.43 |
| Strikeouts | 267 |
| Saves | 0 |
| Holds | 1 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Shōki Murakami (村上 頌樹, Murakami Shōki, born June 25, 1998) is a professional Japanese baseball pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).[1][2]
He is a joint-record holder of the most consecutive scoreless innings pitched in a single season (31 innings) for the Central League, tied with Oetsu Nakai who notched the same for the Tigers in 1963.[3] He is also the only Central League rookie ever to be awarded Rookie of the Year and League MVP in the same season, in his rookie year in 2023.
Early baseball career
[edit]Shoki played little league baseball from 1st grade for Kashu Elementary School in Hyogo Prefecture. He started pitching from 3rd grade and continued pitching for Nandan Junior High. He then enrolled at Chiben Gakuen High School, a known baseball powerhouse in the neighboring Nara Prefecture. As the team's ace in his senior year, he singlehandedly pitched 5 games in the Spring Koshien Tournament of 2016 and recorded a 0.38 ERA in 47 innings. During the tournament's championship match with Takamatsu Shogyo High, he not only pitched 11 innings with a lone earned run, he scored the walk-off hit to end the game and earn his school their first Koshien championship.[4] They however lost in the 2nd round of that same year's summer tournaments.
The following year, he entered Toyo University in Tokyo and continued to pitch in the Tohto University Baseball League while studying Informatics. He notched his first shutout win against Senshu University as a freshman[5], but did not get to take the mound much as a sophomore. He finished his junior year with 6-0 record and a 0.77 ERA, and was awarded both a pitching triple crown and Best Nine, contributing to his team's three-peat spring league victories[6]. He was also chosen to pitch for the national team for the 2019 US-Japan Collegiate Baseball Championships during the summer. In the fall of 2020, he tore a muscle on his pitching arm during the season-opener against Chuo University and left the game after four innings with one run allowed. This was also his last outing in the league.[7]
Professional career
[edit]He was the Tiger's 5th round pick at the 2020 Nippon Professional Baseball draft. He signed a 40 million yen contract with the Tigers for an estimated annual salary of 7.2 million. He was assigned the jersey number 41.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "Register : Murakami,Shoki (Hanshin Tigers)". Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ^ "村上 頌樹｜選手プロフィール｜チーム情報｜阪神タイガース公式サイト". hanshintigers.jp. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ^ "【阪神】村上頌樹60年ぶり快挙！６回無失点で開幕後31イニング連続無失点 セ界タイ記録". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2022-05-09.
- ^ "Chiben Gakuen Wins Spring Koshien Title". The Japan Times. 2016-03-31.
- ^ "東洋大・村上、センバツＶのプライド捨て初完封１勝". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2017-05-03.
- ^ "阪神ドラ5村上頌樹は"西勇輝タイプ" G岡本は智弁学園の2学年先輩「三振を取るイメージある」" (in Japanese). Chunichi Shimbun. 2020-11-18.
- ^ "東都大学野球 東洋大のドラフト候補右腕・村上が右前腕肉離れで離脱". Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). 2020-09-29.
- ^ "阪神がドラ５指名の東洋大・村上と仮契約、先輩・岡本に闘志「三振を取りたい」" (in Japanese). Daily Sports. 2020-11-18.
External links
[edit]- NPB stats
- Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)
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