It was the ‘oriental medicine’ that took me from hell to heaven.
Murakami Munetaka (23, Yakult), who played an active role as a third baseman for the Japanese baseball team, posted several photos on his personal SNS. This photo was taken immediately after a dramatic victory in the semifinals of the WBC (World Baseball Classic) against Mexico.
Murakami hit a double with two RBIs to end the comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning when he was trailing 4-5. In the 1st and 2nd bases, manager Hideki Kuriyama went with a strong ball rather than a forward bunt. He trusted and entrusted Murakami, who had been sluggish throughout the tournament. Murakami responded with a walk-off double.
Murakami was hitless in the preceding four at-bats that day. He struck out three times. Nevertheless, director Kuriyama pushed ahead with perseverance. After Murakami performed sluggishly throughout 4 games in the first round, he lowered his batting order to 5 starting in the quarterfinals. He eased the burden on the fourth hitter.먹튀검증
Murakami roared after hitting the finisher to confirm his advance to the finals. Murakami posted a picture of him hugging and talking with director Kuriyama. The conversation between the two is interesting. Murakami revealed that director Kuriyama said, “It’s late Mune (Murakami’s nickname).” Murakami said he laughed because he thought he would cry if he opened his mouth.
Murakami said he was grateful for director Kuriyama’s trust.
Murakami experienced both hell and heaven in this tournament. He appeared as the fourth batter in all four games in the first round and recorded 2 hits in 14 at-bats without a home run, a batting average of 1.4 and 3 with 7 strikeouts. After that, he gradually gained a sense of hitting. He hit the walk-off double against Mexico, then hit the first home run of the tournament in seven games against the United States in the final. He hit a tying home run in the second inning that trailed 0–1.
Murakami promised at a press conference on his return, “I will try to hit the number 4 in all games by the time of the 2026 tournament in three years.”