Shuichi Murata
| Shuichi Murata | |||
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Murata with the Yomiuri Giants
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| Yomiuri Giants – No. 25 | |||
| Third baseman | |||
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Born: December 28, 1980 Sasaguri, Fukuoka, Japan |
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| NPB debut | |||
| March 28, 2003, for the Yokohama BayStars | |||
| NPB statistics (through 2016 season) |
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| Batting average | .270 | ||
| Hits | 1,765 | ||
| Home runs | 346 | ||
| RBI | 1065 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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| Last updated on: March 31, 2012 | |||
| Medal record | ||
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| Representing Japan | ||
| Men's Baseball | ||
| World Baseball Classic | ||
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2009 Los Angeles | Team |
Shuichi Murata (村田 修一 Murata Shūichi?, born December 28, 1980 in Sasaguri, Fukuoka, Japan) is a third baseman for the Yomiuri Giants. Murata led the Central League in home runs in both 2007 and 2008 and is one of the few pure home run hitters in Japanese professional baseball today. He played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic as a member of the Japanese national team and hit cleanup for much of the latter tournament.
Murata was born in Sasaguri, Fukuoka, a member of the age group often referred to as the Matsuzaka Generation. He played for the Seto Bears, a local Little League team, in elementary school and for the Kasuya Phoenix in nearby Kasuya in junior high.
Murata went on to Higashi Fukuoka High School, leading the school to consecutive berths in national tournaments in his senior year (1998) as the team's ace pitcher. Armed with a 143 km/h (89 mph) fastball, Murata carried his team to a 5–0 victory over Izumo Hokuryo Senior High School in their first game in the 70th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament (Higashi Fukuoka High's first-ever appearance in the spring tournament), but succumbed to Yokohama Senior High School in the next round, suffering a two-hit shutout at the hands of current Boston Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka and giving up a home run to current Seibu Lions outfielder Taketoshi Gotoh. Though Murata's team secured a berth in the 80th National High School Baseball Championship held that very summer, they lost to a current Orix Buffaloes outfielder Katsuaki Furuki-led Toyota Otani High School in the first round.
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