Munetaka Murakami No. 55 HR Sadaharu Oh "60 is not a dream" [Q&A]

Pro baseball player Yakult Munetaka Murakami hit his 55th home run this season.

He is the second Japanese player to hit 55 home runs in a season since Sadaharu Oh of the Giants in 1964.

Speaking of Mr. Wang, he hit 868 home runs in total and is the "home run king of the world" who won the home run king 15 times.

We asked Mr. Wang, who is currently the chairman of the SoftBank team, about Murakami's achievement of No. 55.

It's amazing to be able to do such intense things in the 5th year

Q. How do you see Murakami?

A. Anyway, it will be about twice as many home runs as the second place.

I think it's amazing that he shows his strength as a batter.

It's only been 5 years, and he's overwhelmingly separated other players and contributed to the team's victory.

He is planting and showing intensity in the feelings of his fans.

That's the best thing you can do as a player.

I think he is happy with himself.

I think it's great that it's being talked about.

It's amazing to be able to do such intense things in the 5th year.

Q. Played against Softbank in the interleague game, and there was also a home run that caught the difficult ball of Kodai Senga and Shinya Kaya.

What do you think about Murakami's greatness as a home run hitter and his superiority?

A.In today's world, it is required to be able to hit a wide angle to some extent, but you can do that.

I think it's a practice, but the flying distance of the home run is amazing.

A so-so normal nice home run and a home run that makes you think it's amazing are completely different from a fan's point of view.

If you can't hit that kind of home run, you can't hit the number.

He will always challenge distance and technique.

He is not at all complacent even with his current results.

I think he's working on the most important time for him right now.

He's a solid baseball player, and I expect him to continue to hit more home runs, like 50, 60, and more.

A player who makes you want to see the real thing

Q. The home runs hit by Senga and Kayama were great home runs.

What were your frank impressions when you saw it in front of you?

A. I also saw the home run he hit at last year's Olympics.

He is getting more and more applied ability to make a home run even if his posture is slightly disturbed.

I don't think he has much hesitation in batting.

Home runs aren't that constant.

Even if you don't play 2, 3, or 4 games, if you play normally the next time, you'll get 1 or 2 more.

As long as you have confidence in yourself, I think you'll be fine.

His intensity jumps into the heart of the viewer.

His home runs are now the strongest in Japan.

I hope the fans will continue to come to the ground looking forward to his home runs.

He's a player that makes you want to see him in person, not on TV.

It's great that he's become a player who makes you want to go out there and swing the bat.

I don't think it's a surprise to me

Q. Mr. Katsuya Nomura hit 52 home runs in the previous year (1963), and Chairman Oh also hit 55 in the following year (1964).

How did he feel when he hit the plate after hitting 52 home runs?

A. I hit 52 and still had over 10 games left.

That's why I fought without worrying about the number of runs.

Anyway, when I can hit it, I hit it.

Murakami, I think so too.

Everyone says, "That's amazing," but if you look at yourself, it's nothing special.

I can hit it, so I'm just hitting it.

From summer to autumn, I think I'm just steadily doing what I've been doing this year in my own way.

Among them, the number of home runs has increased, he has hit five home runs in a row, he has improved technically, and I think he has become stronger mentally.

So I don't think it's a surprise to him.

It's not strange, so I can shoot more and more, and I can't shoot if I'm impressed or excited.

That's why I think he's working on it now, like if he hits one, he's going to do the next one.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the rest of the game goes.

It is difficult to throw with a stance that there is no gap

Q. Where do you feel in common with the chairman in home runs?

A. If anything, my body wasn't that big.

Even when he's at bat, he's really solid and doesn't have any gaps, so I think it's hard to throw.

Even though he went to a good place on the outcourse, he was hit in the left or left middle, and even if he swam a little, he would fly far enough to the stands.

I saw you hit an out-course slider the other day, but I think the throwing pitcher is very nervous.

From my experience, the more sensitive the pitcher is, the easier it is for the batter to make mistakes.

It's harder to hit a ball that makes you want to hit it if you can.

If you are careful, if your hand is slightly out of alignment, the momentum and sharpness of the curve are not good enough, so from the point of view of hitting, it will be a good chance ball.

Q. Speaking of being cautious, chairman Wang also has a lot of four balls.

Murakami is also marked and has a lot of four balls.

A.Anyway, do not force yourself to hit a difficult ball.

The so-called missing pitch, a ball that will become a home run will always come.

Isn't it enough just to hit it without missing it?

There is no way to stop the four ball anymore.

So I think it's endurance.

If it's this at-bat four-ball, wouldn't it be better to switch to the next at-bat?

I think he's had enough of that already.

It's good to be able to do it in the battle for the championship

Q.Like Chairman Wang, this is a record challenge while the team is fighting for the championship.

Isn't that also the difficulty?

A. While the team is fighting for the championship, the other players are also very enthusiastic, so it's good to be able to do it in such a situation.

For example, when you're at the bottom and the other players think they've finished the game, it's rather difficult to have to do your best alone.

Now that the team has become one, of course, it's a game difference that is close to winning, and everyone will have that feeling until the championship is decided, so it's a very good situation for him.

Q. Murakami is 22 years old this year.

At the age of 24, Chairman Oh achieved 55 hits, and after that he went on to win the title of Home Run King and Triple Crown King.

How do you see Murakami's growth from here?

How did the chairman feel about each season?

A. Anyway, he's come this far in his fifth year.

No player has come this far in the past five years.

He walks alone where no one else has walked.

That's why I always have to open myself up.

Seeing how he's progressed so far, I think he can do that.

If you hit one, you should think of it as another one.

It's past for him to hit, so he can challenge the next one.

i want to support what he is doing

Q. Recently, more and more players are trying to hit a home run by launching a ball from below.

I get the impression that Murakami, instead, hits the ball, spins it, and hits a home run.

Chairman Wang was also hit by a home run.

What do you think about the emergence of a home run hitter like him?

A. I think the flyball revolution is just a fad.

Since there is gravitational force and objects fall from top to bottom, it is impossible to say from bottom to top.

If you hit from top to bottom, the ball will go up.

If the bat hits the ball and the ball goes up, the ball goes down.

So if you hit it, the ball will go up.

It's been that way in our time.

I think that was good in itself.

If Murakami-kun is doing it with that kind of feeling, I think he has his own way of hitting home runs.

Q. Murakami is young, but his comments make me think he is aware of the responsibility of the team.

Do you think you are hitting a home run in that awareness?

A. Age doesn't really matter.

Those who can hit can hit.

Furthermore, cleanup is the batting order that has the most impact on whether the team wins or loses.

I think Murakami-kun has already fully understood that and is facing the match.

Q. What are the characteristics of Chairman Oh and Murakami, who have seen many different players?

A. Even if you have such a magnificent body, and even if you swim a little and get stuck, you said in a newspaper discourse some time ago that you "pushed back". Being there is amazing.

Now there are many people who are trying to hit by swinging the bat to hit.

He connects the ball to the core of the bat and pushes the ball back where it comes from.

The ball and bat are attached to each other for a long time, and the ball does not drop easily.

I want to support what he is doing.

Mass-producing home runs is harder than it is in our time.

Q. Hideki Matsui is the first Japanese player to hit 50 home runs.

What do you think about the fact that a player who matches the chairman's record came out after a long time?

A. It's hard to actually hit more than 50 shots.

Spring, summer, and autumn change throughout the year.

In the meantime, my physical condition and condition also change, so I can't say it's the same every day.

These days, the other party is also researching with data anyway.

At the same time, with the division of labor now, it's rare that you hit the same pitcher four times in one game.

There may be times when it's different four times, and the first pitcher hits twice or three times, but after that, different pitchers and experts always come out.

Under such circumstances, it is more difficult to mass-produce home runs now than in our times.

Under such circumstances, the thing that hits so much is how his technique stands out among the young players of this era.

Q. If you keep this pace, you will be able to win the triple crown.

In the year Chairman Wang hit 55, he missed the Triple Crown.

How do you see the difficulty of keeping everything, including the batting average?

A. The most difficult thing is the batting average.

Because all players are opponents.

Some people are the opponents of home runs.

Some people haven't entered the home run race from the beginning.

However, although the batting average is narrowed down from the middle, everyone starts as an enemy.

After all, those who aim for one bring a certain obsession.

I don't know what will happen until the very end, but I think he believes in his batting now, so if he keeps doing what he's done so far, he'll definitely get good results.

60 is not a dream

Q. The chairman always talks about the appeal of home runs.

How do you think about the significance of baseball being featured in home runs?

A. Anyway, everyone has a hard time playing baseball to get one point.

For example, just because there is no out at third base does not mean that you will definitely score points.

However, (if it is a home run), at least one point is definitely scored with one swing.

If there are 3 runners, you get 4 points.

After all, the opponent is helpless so that it is said to be "the flower of baseball".

There's no stopping me when I'm in the stands.

Fans want it too.

The American (Shohei) Otani-kun is attracting attention as a great pitcher, but I think the fact that a Japanese player was participating in the homerun kingship battle caused a big uproar.

That's how many fans want a home run.

It's nice to be able to do what people want.

I want Murakami to continue to challenge himself to hit more and bigger home runs.

Q. Do you exceed 60 home runs?

A. 60 is not a dream.

In particular, there are times when you can hit two or three home runs.

I think it's possible.