At 6 am Arizona time this morning, the clock started ticking on another Japanese import. Slugger Munetaka Murakami has been posted by his NPB team, the Yakult Swallows, with the official window for him to negotiate a deal with a major-league team now open. The deadline for that is still some way off – he has until December 22 to come to terms. But we can expect a fever pitch of whispers, rumors, and rumors of whispers over the next month and a half, until his decision is made. Munetaka is likely the Japanese player with most power to make the jump, certainly since Hideki Matsui came over in 2003.

Indeed, through their age 25 seasons, Murakami has better home-run numbers. Matsui hit 204 over 853 games, while Murakami has 246 in 892 games. He will also be several years younger than ‘Godzill

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