Kudos to Masanori Murakami, the first Japanese player in the major leagues, on his recent appointment as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. "Mashi" is highly qualified to take the leadership role in supporting charities and, having been acquainted with him for a quarter of a century, I know he will do a respectable job.
The left-handed pitcher went to the U.S. in 1964, that magical year of the Tokyo Olympics and the New York World's Fair, as a confused 19-year-old sent by his Japanese club, the Nankai Hawks. He was to play in the lower minor leagues in the San Francisco Giants organization, just to get some seasoning, then go back to Japan to re-join the Hawks, then based in Osaka.
However, he was so good at the Class A level, he found himself being called up to the majors in September of that year, and he enjoyed another good season on the big league stage in 1965.