Former Hanshin Tigers great Matt Murton has been seen here and there over the past few days, as he’s done a whirlwind tour of Japan. He arrived on September 15th, and will head back to America on the 20th. The purpose of his trip? “I just wanted to encourage people who have gone through some hard times this year.” He is referring, of course, to the people of Kansai who endured a strong earthquake in June, and then a powerful typhoon at the start of September.
Working in tandem with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), with whom he partnered during his playing time in Japan as well, Murton quickly put together a trip that included stops in Tokyo (where he had dinner with some ex-teammates) and Osaka.
The one-time record holder for the most single-season hits (214, set in 2010 but broken in 2015), Murton visited a church in Nishinomiya that got badly ravaged by the typhoon, and put on an informal baseball clinic for kids at a park in Ibaraki (near the epicenter of the earthquake). He also did a meet-and-greet event, another appearance at the Tigers Academy in Ashiya (which features ex-Tigers Kohei Shibata, Keiji Uezono and Naoto Tsuru as coaches), and more.
But most importantly (to H-TEN, anyways) is that he took the time to meet up with me. It was a very short visit, and part of that was spent speaking with the entourage he had with him (interpreter, FCA rep, church pastor couple), but it was still a thrill to sit and talk with a man that I have admired as a player, Christian, and man since I started following the team in 2014.
Murton left me with these words, “I don’t know if my visit accomplished its purpose, but I leave that in God’s hands. I’ll be back again. This trip was pretty sudden, but I want to come again and spend more time with you. Let’s stay in touch.”
Indeed. And next time, I’m getting his autograph on his rookie card! (I had it with me, but there was no opportunity to get it signed during our short visit.)
