Masanori “Mashi” Murakami began his baseball career as a high school student in September of 1962, playing for the Japanese Pacific League professional team, the Nankai Hawks. Two years later, his team sent him, along with two other young players, to the class A Fresno Giants in the California League.

Originally scheduled to only stay in the United States until June, the Hawks neglected to call him back to Japan and he stayed with the Giants for the rest of the season. In August of the same year, he was promoted to the majors, and on September 1, 1964, he became the first Japanese player to play in the major leagues. His debut with the San Francisco Giants was as a reliever against the New York Mets, pitching to four batters in the ninth inning. He struck out two and allowed just one hit and zero runs sparking “Mashi Mania” in San Franciso.  He received his first MLB career win on September 29 over the Houston Colt .45s, playing alongside Willie Mays, Gaylord Perry and Juan Marichal.

Murakami returned to the Nankai Hawks in 1966, where he won 18 games in 1968 and contributed to the team's league championship in 1973. Traded to both the Hanshin Tigers and the Nippon Ham Fighters, Murakami continued his career in the Japan until his retirement in 1982. He returned to the San Francisco Giants spring camp in 1983, not signed as a player, but as a batting practice pitcher for Giants' home games.

From 1984 to 1986, he worked as a sports commentator before becoming a minor league pitching coach for the Nippon Ham Fighters from 1987 to 1988. He has also served as a pitching coach for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and Seibu Lions.

In 1995, Murakami was honored by the San Francisco Giants in a pregame ceremony led by Giants Manager Dusty Baker, and the City of San Francisco declared August 5 as “Masanori Murakami Day.”

In 2004, Murakami was presented with the Foreign Minister's Certificate of Commendation in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Japan-U.S. relationship by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. He also served as a director of the Imagine One World Kimono Project and as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

Masanori Murakami is now a commentator for NHK major league baseball games and writes for the Daily Sports newspaper.

Biography provided in part by Michael Clair, MLB.com