Inside The Dodgers

Top Baseball Star in Japan Breaks Internet By Posting Photo in Dodgers Hat

Noah Camras

Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Team Japan celebrates on the field after winning the game with a walk-off double from Japan third base Munetaka Murakami (center) during the ninth inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Team Japan celebrates on the field after winning the game with a walk-off double from Japan third base Munetaka Murakami (center) during the ninth inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Dodgers have made it clear they're hoping to be Japan's team for the foreseeable future.

That plan appears to be working.

More news: Dodgers Take First Big Step in Roki Sasaki Pursuit

Top Japanese superstar Munetaka Murakami, who's slated to join Major League Baseball in 2026, recently posted a picture on his social media account in which he appeared to be wearing a Dodgers hat.

Murakami announced that the 2025 season will be his final one in Nippon Professional Baseball. Then, the 24-year-old will hope to be posted for MLB clubs.

Murakami is one of the best players in Japan. Despite being just 24 years old, he's already accumulated 224 home runs, 600 runs batted in, and a .945 OPS across 836 games in NPB.

He won the Central League MVP award in both 2021 and 2022, and won the Central League Triple Crown in 2022, hitting .318 with 56 home runs and 134 runs batted in. Those 56 home runs set an NPB record, passing Sadaharu Oh's 55 home runs in 1964.

The fact that Murakami, one of the premier players in Japan, is wearing a Dodgers hat is a testament to the work L.A. has done over the last year.

The Dodgers signed Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal. Then, shortly thereafter, the Dodgers won the bidding war for superstar pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, making him the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history with a 12-year, $325 million deal.

The Dodgers have made it known they want to become Japan's team. It was a big reason they spent so much money on both Ohtani and Yamamoto last offseason.

“This signing, from our standpoint, was about the level of talent that we added and the effect it has on our championship odds," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said back in February. "But a really helpful aspect of this deal is the potential tail of value of kids growing up [in Japan] being passionate Dodger fans, turning into really good players in the NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball], and then in an ideal world wanting to be a Dodger when they come over to play Major League Baseball.”

The Dodgers didn't only add two of the best Japanese-born players, but they also ended up going all the way and winning the World Series. They also proved that money is never going to be an issue, as they added left-handed ace Blake Snell this offseason on a five-year, $182 million deal.

The Dodgers are now looking to add another Japanese superstar in international amateur free agent Roki Sasaki. If they're able to land Sasaki, the Dodgers will have one of the greatest collection of Japanese players in MLB history.

It's hard to imagine other Japanese stars wouldn't want to join.

More news: Roki Sasaki's Agent Provides Major Update on Meetings With Dodgers, Others

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Noah Camras
NOAH CAMRAS

Noah graduated from USC in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Sports Media Studies. He is the lead editor for Inside the Dodgers. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, and grew up a fan of all LA sports. 

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