Baseball: Yakult reiterates support for Murakami's potential MLB move
"We will apply (for the move via the posting system) if he says he wants to go," said Tetsuya Hayashida, president of the Central League club. Yakult has promised Murakami will be posted after this season, the final year of his three-year contract.
But the 25-year-old third baseman has played only one game in 2025 due to an upper body injury, so the focus will be on whether he will try to make the move next year.
In 2022, Murakami became the youngest Triple Crown winner in Japanese baseball history at age 22 when he batted .318 with 56 home runs and 134 RBIs.
He hit a solo home run in Japan's 3-2 win over the United States in the final of the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
5 hours ago
- Japan Today
Japan boxing to adopt stricter safety rules after deaths of two fighters
A pair of boxing gloves are seen on the side of a ring in this file picture Japanese boxing officials said on Tuesday they would introduce urine tests, stricter rules on weight loss to prevent dehydration and improve medical cover at bouts following the deaths of two fighters. The new measures were adopted during an emergency meeting of the Japan Pro Boxing Association (JPBA), the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) and gym owners on Tuesday. It was convened after super featherweight Shigetoshi Kotari and lightweight Hiromasa Urakawa, both 28, died days after brain surgery on injuries they sustained in separate bouts at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall on August 2. The exact cause of the boxers' deaths is to be determined, but dehydration caused by cutting weight rapidly is regarded as a factor in making the brain more susceptible to bleeding, according to the World Boxing Association. The deaths were "really regrettable," said JPBA president Shoji Kobayashi. "We gathered today to establish a plan towards zero accidents." New measures to be implemented as soon as possible include urine tests for measuring dehydration and stricter rules on boxers' rapid weight loss, said Tsuyoshi Yasukochi, secretary-general of the JBC. Ambulances will also be required on site, even for non-world championship bouts. They will partner with hospitals that are equipped to perform emergency surgery for head and other injuries. There will also be new rules on how long before a fight sparring must be stopped during training, he said. Officials decided "to take all measures possible so we do not let the deaths of the two be in vain," Yasukochi added. Kotari collapsed and later died after going 12 rounds in an Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation title fight. The JBC had already announced all future OPBF title bouts would be reduced to 10 rounds. "That such an incident occurred involving top-level boxers means we may face arguments that boxing should be halted," admitted Toshiharu Kayama, former Japan welterweight champion and president of the boxing gym Ebisu K's Box. "We, the association and gyms, want to think and change" the way the sport is contested, Kayama said. An accident investigation committee will work to find out the cause of the boxers' deaths later this month and guidance on prevention measures will be updated, Yasukochi said. The JBC and JPBA will also hold a safety meeting later this month, which will include the organizations' doctors as well as the amateur boxing federation, he added. © 2025 AFP
The Mainichi
14 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Football: Reims president admits Keito Nakamura looking for transfer
AMIENS, France (Kyodo) -- Japan attacker Keito Nakamura is seeking to leave French Ligue 2 club Reims this summer, their president said Monday. But Jean-Pierre Caillot was adamant the future of the 25-year-old, who scored 11 goals in the top-tier Ligue 1 last term, lies at his club. "He's under contract with us," Caillot said after Reims drew their season opener 2-2 away to Amiens, where Nakamura was not in the matchday squad. "I don't know (about offers from other clubs). Either way, he will stay at Reims." Nakamura, who joined Reims from Austrian outfit LASK in the summer of 2023 on a five-year contract, became the first Japanese player to score in five consecutive games in a major European league last October. Reims were eventually relegated, however, after they finished 16th and lost in the promotion-relegation playoff. Nakamura was also absent from Reims' preseason tour of Japan through Aug. 2, in which they lost to J-League second-division club Montedio Yamagata 1-0 and top-tier side Kashiwa Reysol 2-1 before beating J1 Gamba Osaka 2-1. Back in May, Nakamura told Kyodo News he was determined to "survive" the battle to make the Japan squad for next summer's World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United Sates. "It's the stage I've been dreaming of since I was little. What I have in front of me now really is the biggest chance," he said. "I want to score at the World Cup finals."
Kyodo News
17 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Baseball: Ohtani homers in 3rd straight game as Yamamoto shelled
ANAHEIM, California - Shohei Ohtani homered for the third straight game upon his return to his old ballpark, but Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the loss as the Los Angeles Dodgers fell 7-4 to the Los Angeles Angels on Monday. Former Angel Ohtani belted his 100th home run at Angel Stadium with one out in the eighth inning, pulling Shaun Anderson's 3-2 slider inside for a solo shot to make it a 7-1 game before Max Muncy also went deep for three runs in the same inning. Ohtani tied Kyle Schwarber again in leading the National League with 42 home runs as the Philadelphia Phillies' left fielder also homered on the same day. The Dodgers' comeback came a little too late, however, after Ohtani's Japanese compatriot Yamamoto (10-8) allowed six runs, the most in his Major League Baseball career, on six hits, five walks and a hit batsman over 4-2/3 innings. Zach Neto went deep to right center off his first pitch of the game, a four-seamer, and Yoan Moncada singled in another in the first inning. Yamamoto then surrendered four runs in the fifth when he loaded the bases with no outs and was replaced after a forgettable 99-pitch effort, including six strikeouts. Neto had another solo shot in the sixth for the Angels' last run. "My form wasn't necessarily bad coming into the game. (But) I kept giving up runs before finding my rhythm," Yamamoto said. "I can't help it if I give up hits, but I could have kept the damage to a minimum if I had been able to stem the tide somewhere." Yu Darvish, meanwhile, hurled six innings of one-run ball to earn the win as the San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 4-1. Darvish (2-3) issued no walks in a commanding 84-pitch outing that saw him strike out the side in the fifth before Rafael Devers sent the right-hander's 1-1 sinker to the left-center seats at Oracle Park with two outs in the sixth to tie 1-1. But the Padres scored three runs in the seventh off Logan Webb (10-9) to retake the lead and three relievers each worked a scoreless inning. "My control was a bit better today," said Darvish after striking out six in his seventh start since his July 7 return from right elbow inflammation. "The ball was just so slippery and it took time to adjust. My rhythm got better gradually as the game went on." The veteran is quickly acclimatizing to his new pitching mechanics with a lower releasing position, introduced to alleviate his physical burden. "When I was little, I used to keep throwing against a wall using various mechanics. I tried many things at high school too, including throwing sidearm at Koshien Stadium," Darvish said. "I'm good at these things."
