Choji Murata

I think of Choji Murata as pure stubborn willpower poured into a human being. The Hiroshima kid who threw with that gorgeous, bow-bending overhand motion, finishing every pitch like he meant to break the catcher's glove, and that wicked forkball that just fell off a table. What gets me, though, is the comeback. When his elbow blew out, everyone wrote him off, but he grinded through the rehab and walked right back onto the mound, which is honestly the stuff of legend. He wasn't a loud, self-promoting guy; he let his whole back say "don't you dare quit." Later he stayed close to the game, talking pitching with younger arms with that same fire. He left us in 2022, but that head-on, no-shortcuts way of living him has never faded for me.

Choji Murata (November 27, 1949 – November 11, 2022) was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher born in Toyota District, Hiroshima Prefecture. He stood 181 cm tall and was known as one of the most durable and resilient pitchers of his era. After overcoming a serious elbow injury that threatened to end his career, he returned to the mound and continued competing at a high level. Following his playing days he worked as a baseball coach and commentator, and was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

Name (English)

Choji Murata

Name (Japanese)

村田兆治

Reading

むらた ちょうじ

Born

November 27, 1949 – November 11, 2022

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Sagittarius / Ox (Ushi)

Origin

Toyota District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan

Height

181cm

Occupation

Baseball player / Baseball coach / Baseball commentator

Awards & achievements

• Baseball Hall of Fame (year unknown)

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%91%E7%94%B0%E5%85%86%E6%B2%BB

Tags

• From Hiroshima Prefecture
• Baseball player
• Baseball coach
• Baseball commentator

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.