A brief history of Japanese-American baseball relations, Part 1: The Groundbreaker

December 2, 10:41 PMAsian-American Sports ExaminerMichael Street

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Masanori Murakami, Japanese baseball's groundbreaker 

Last night's interview on Joe Castellano's show on XM Radio, MLB Live Late Edition was about Junichi Tazawa and how he changed the way American teams deal with Japanese players. That made me realize that my page didn't yet have the history of this relationship.

And so, for those who haven't heard it, this is The Story of How American Baseball Teams Sign (And Used To Steal) Japanese Players.

Part One: The Groundbreaker

In 1964, the Nankai Hawks thought that their players could use some seasoning in the American major leagues. They worked out an exchange program with the San Francisco Giants, and sent three players to train in the Giants' farm system.

One of those players was Masanori Murakami, a lefty who pitched with the Fresno Giants, the A-league affiliate for San Francisco.

He pitched so well with Fresno that he was named the Cal League Rookie of the Year.

And so, in an accelerated path rarely seen today, San Francisco brought Murakami up in September, where he would play alongside Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn.

Murakami again dazzled, reeling off eleven scoreless innings before a four-inning, four-run outing in the final game of the season.

That last game was a 9-2 loss to the Cubs and a young Gaylord Perry was on the hill; the game was already 5-0 when Murakami entered. In spite of this meltdown, Murakami finished the season with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.60 WHIP, with 1 save, and a staggering 15 Ks against 1 BB in those 11 IP.

Clearly, the Giants wanted him back—but so did the Hawks. The teams tussled over him, and finally agreed that Murakami could pitch in 1965, after which the Hawks would have him back for good. Murakami threw 57 IP in 1965, with 8 saves, a 3.75 ERA, 1.063 WHIP and another great control ratio: 85 Ks against 22 BBs. Regretfully, the Giants complied with the Hawks wishes, and bid their part-time closer adieu

This little dust-up led to baseball's first Gentleman's Agreement in 1967, the upshot of which was that Major League Baseball teams wouldn't touch NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) players.It was an agreement that would last almost thirty years, by which time MLB had evidently forgotten the amazing success of that first groundbreaking ballplayer, Masanori Murakami.

The Japanese leagues were generally regarded as a AAAA league, better than our best minor league teams, but not quite up to major league standards. Their seasons were too short (130-140 games), the parks too cozy, the game too mechanical (pitchers always threw a fastball on a 3-2 count), the players too small.

Even though Asian teams dominated Little League competition (so much so that they changed the rules to require an all-American final in 1976), big-league teams still thought that American players would always be better.

Then in 1994, a Tornado would blow all this away.

Tomorrow: Hideo Nomo, the Tornado.