Choji Murata
| Choji Murata | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Choji Murata in his last game as a professional player in Kawasaki Stadium | |||
| Pitcher | |||
| Born: November 27, 1949 Toyota District, Hiroshima, Japan | |||
| |||
| NPB debut | |||
| 1968, for the Tokyo Orions | |||
| Last NPB appearance | |||
| 1990, for the Lotte Orions | |||
| NPB statistics | |||
| Win–loss | 215–177 | ||
| ERA | 3.24 | ||
| Strikeouts | 2363 | ||
| Teams | |||
| As player
As coach | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
| |||
| Member of the Japanese | |||
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |||
| Induction | 2005 | ||
Choji Murata (村田 兆治, born November 27, 1949, in Toyota District, Hiroshima) is a former Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher. He played for the Tokyo/Lotte Orions over the period 1968 to 1990.
Murata led the Pacific League in Earned run average in 1975 and 1976. In 1976 he won 21 games, the only time he won 20 games or more in his career.
Overuse of Murata's pitching arm led to extreme pain and injury,[1] and ultimately Murata was forced to undergo Tommy John elbow surgery, performed in 1982 by Dr. Frank Jobe in California.[2] (Murata was the first Japanese pitcher to undergo the procedure.)[3] As a result, Murata missed much of the 1982 season, all of the 1983 season, and most of the 1984 season during his recovery.
Rebounding in 1985 with a 17-5 record, Murata won the Nippon Professional Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award. In 1989 he again led the Pacific League in ERA.
Retiring in 1990 with 200+ career wins, Murata became a member of Meikyukai. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.
In 2008, Murata served on the Eiji Sawamura Award selection committee.
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Whiting, Robert. You Gotta Have Wa (Vintage Departures, 1989), pp. 55-57.
- ^ Whiting, Robert. "The Pain Of Perfection," Sports Illustrated (May 15, 1989). Archived at JapaneseBaseball.com.
- ^ "Hall of Fame pitcher Murata pays tribute to Dr. Jobe". The Japan Times. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
External links[]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
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- Living people
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- Tokyo Orions players
- Lotte Orions players
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