Diunte: Murakami is a hit in return to site of MLB debut
From SABR member Nick Diunte at Examiner.com on July 2, 2015, with mention of SABR member Rob Fitts:
Masanori Murakami was 6,000 miles away from his home while visiting New York City this week, but the famed Japanese pitcher was welcomed with open arms as he returned to the site where he made history over 50 years ago as the first Japanese player in Major League Baseball. What started with a book signing in Manhattan on Tuesday and finished with him throwing a strike from the mound at Citi Field on Thursday, has left Murakami with a sense of adulation that has been absent since his playing days.
“[They have been] the best so far,” Murakami said during an interview on Wednesday. “Maybe half the people didn’t see me pitch, but [the people] are friendly, very kind, and nice. I’m having a good time.”
Murakami was in New York as part of a tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of his groundbreaking debut with the San Francisco Giants that coincided with the release of his autobiography, “Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer.” The book is authored by Rob Fitts, who previously wrote two other books on Japanese baseball. Guiding “Mashi,” on his tour, Fitts has encountered tremendous excitement from fans eager to catch a pillar of baseball’s past.
Read the full article here: http://www.examiner.com/article/murakami-is-a-hit-during-the-return-to-the-site-of-his-major-league-debut
Originally published: July 8, 2015. Last Updated: July 8, 2015.