<h3>Nishiazabu, 23:35.</h3>
<figure id="attachment_273566" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-273566" style="width: 1950px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="160a5d66"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/11/DSC_7552_r.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-273566" class="wp-caption-text"> Murakami refueling his car in Swallows colors (?). Murakami refueling his car. It may not be long before he&#8217;s in the majors.</figcaption></figure>
<p> Late one night in mid-October, a flashy green luxury car pulled into a gas station in Nishiazabu (Minato Ward), Tokyo. Out of the driver&#8217;s seat emerged a stocky young man in a sweatshirt.</p>
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<p> It was Munetaka Murakami, 22, of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, who this year became the youngest player in history to win the Triple Crown.</p>
<p> On the day the Yakult team won the second game of the Climax Series against the Hanshin Tigers to advance to the Japan Series. After the game, Murakami left Jingu Stadium, finished refueling without hesitation, got into his car, and quickly drove away.</p>
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<p><strong> Murakami was presented with a 300 million yen house by a housing manufacturer, a sponsor of Yakult, to commemorate his triple crown. His annual salary, estimated at 220 million yen this year, is said by reporters to be sure to exceed 500 million yen next year. In addition, &#8220;Murakami&#8221; is attracting so much attention outside the baseball world that it is rumored that it will win the &#8220;buzzword of the year&#8221; award.</strong></p>
<p> We look forward to seeing him hit a series of great sounds at next March&#8217;s WBC.</p>
<figure id="attachment_273567" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-273567" style="width: 1639px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="14c92f9a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/11/DSC_7548.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-273567" class="wp-caption-text"> Unpublished story: Munetaka Murakami, Tokyo Yakult Swallows&#8217; youngest Triple Crown winner, enjoys driving his favorite car for a change of pace</figcaption></figure>
<p> From the November 11, 2022 issue of FRIDAY</p>


 Masaaki Saito

 Munetaka Murakami of the Tokyo Yakult baseball team set a Japanese record of 56 home runs and became Reiwa's first Triple Crown winner. His popularity is soaring. We spotted this big hitter at a gas station in Tokyo. What is the color of his car and Murakami's unexpected behavior?

Tokyo Yakult’s Munetaka Murakami, the youngest Triple Crown winner, drives his car for a change

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