Genichi Murata

Genichi Murata (村田 元一)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 147 lb.
• High School Meiji High School

• Born April 10, 1938 in Suginami, Tokyo Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Diminutive right-handed pitcher Genichi Murata played in Nippon Pro Baseball from 1957 to 1969. All of his career was with the Kokutetsu Swallows of the Central League, who became the Sankei Swallows in 1965 and are the ancestors of today's Yakult Swallows.

He was a durable and sometimes successful pitcher during his career, winning 10 or more games on six occasions, starting with a 15-22 season in 1958, and peaking when he went 18-16 two years later, in 1960. Overall, he went 118-140 in 13 seasons, appearing in 459 games, with 284 starts. He struck out 990 batters in 2154 innings, with a high of 178 in 1958, which was also his rookie season (he had made only one appearance in 1957). He tied for the lead in games pitched with 58 that first full season. He played in the 1962 NPB All-Star Game.

He is remembered for giving up the first homer of Sadaharu Oh's career. It came in the 7th inning of a game against Oh's Yomiuri Giants on April 26, 1959, breaking a scoreless tie.