Witty, engaging, and incredibly entertaining, Masanori "Mashi" Murakami shared with the Whittier community his anecdotes from his time as a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants in the mid-1960s. Murakami spoke at Villalobos Hall in front of a crowd of approximately 100 attendees. The event is the first speaker series hosted by the College's Institute for Baseball Studies.
Murakami and his biographer Robert Fitts spoke about Mashi’s career and his experience as Japan’s first Big Leaguer as chronicled in Fitts' book Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer.
Mashi recounted personal anecdotes from his time in Japan as a young player, his time in the minor leagues, as well as his encounters with baseball greats such as Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente.
"I had two dictionaries in my back pockets," said Murakami. "One Japanese-English and one English-Japanese." It was a culture shock for Murakami when he came to the United States since he didn't speak the language or was familiar with the culture. But, Murakami's work ethic and great sense of humor helped him adapt to his life in the U.S. and develop friendships.
Murakami went on to become the Giants top left-handed reliever and one of the most popular players on the team. The Giants offered him a contract for the 1965 season but there was just one problem – the Nankai Hawks still owned Murakami's contract. The dispute forced the young player to choose between fulfilling his dreams in the United States and fulfilling his duty in Japan. Mashi would pitch for the Giants in 1965 before returning to finish his career in his native land.
Yuriko Gamo Romer showed a short clip from her upcoming documentary Diamond Diplomacy: U.S. Japan Relations Through a Shared Love of Baseball and discussed Murakami’s importance to U.S.-Japanese relations.
Afterwards, Mashi met with fans and signed copies of his biography.
