Murakami became the first Japanese player in the Major League in a deal worked out between the San Francisco Giants and the Nankai Hawks. While becoming a fan favorite in San Francisco's large Japanese community, Murakami's Major League career was cut short when the Japanese government, afraid that its country's teams would be decimated should others follow his path, demanded that he be returned, and he did so. Pictured here is his 1978 TCMA card, showing him warming up before a game during the 1960s.