October 12, 2026
Baseball took NPB All-Star Matt Murton to Japan — ministry keeps bringing him back
As MLB players chase postseason dreams that Murton once shared, the former big leaguer and Hanshin Tigers star continues serving in Japan with FCA
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Going to Japan once felt like an ending Matt Murton did not want. Instead, it became the beginning of something he never expected.
Today, the former Major League Baseball player and Hanshin Tigers star returns regularly to Japan through his work with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), continuing the ministry that grew from an unexpected turn in his baseball career.
A first-round draft pick who reached the majors with the Chicago Cubs in 2005, Murton envisioned years of big-league baseball and postseason runs toward the World Series. For a time, his career seemed to be unfolding as planned.
Then his momentum stalled. After the 2007 season, the Cubs signed Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, moving Murton out of an everyday role. Trades to Oakland and Colorado followed, and by 2009 he was spending much of the season in Triple-A. Then Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd raised another possibility: Japan.
Murton initially resisted. But after prayer and encouragement from his wife, Stefani, he reconsidered.
“That was my pride, for sure — just not wanting to relent to something less than what I had expected,” Murton said. “And the Lord kept working on my heart.”
In 2010, Murton signed with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball. In Japan, his career flourished. A four-time NPB All-Star and four-time Best Nine selection, Murton broke the Japanese league’s single-season hits record held by Ichiro Suzuki, finishing with 214. Over six seasons, he hit .310, hit 77 home runs, and drove in 417 runs. He became one of Japan’s biggest foreign baseball stars and remains Hanshin’s longest-tenured foreign position player.
“Sometimes the path God uses is not the one we would have chosen for ourselves,” said FCA Executive Vice President of Pro and Collegiate Mike Blanc. “Matt went to Japan focused on continuing his baseball career, but God was already building relationships and creating opportunities that would extend far beyond his playing days.”
Those opportunities took shape after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster devastated the Tohoku region. Soon after, Murton and FCA Regional Director of International Advancement Will Thompson launched Rice of Hope to provide rice to survivors. Murton later used his influence to help Thompson launch FCA in Japan in 2012.
“God doesn’t need us,” Murton said. “He’s going to do what He’s going to do regardless. But He invites us to be a part of what He’s doing.”
That work takes place in a country where Christians represent less than 1% of roughly 124 million people. At some baseball clinics, Thompson said, many participants have never even heard the name of Jesus.
Murton’s celebrity there has opened a number of doors for ministry. Even a decade after his playing career ended, fans still recognize the former Hanshin star, giving him opportunities to connect with people and share the Gospel.
Murton has ministered in churches, detention centers and schools, while serving homeless and food-insecure children. He and Thompson also created the first-ever Japanese Baseball Bible and a baseball card featuring Murton’s testimony in Japanese and a link to learn more about Christ.
Today he serves as the Philadelphia Phillies’ assistant general manager of hitting, primarily focused on player development. In 2025, Murton was inducted into the FCA Hall of Champions, which was founded in 1991 to honor individuals who have demonstrated a consistent commitment to Jesus Christ through the ministry of FCA.
Murton has remained committed to FCA’s ministry in Japan, making five trips to the country between 2018 and 2025. His December 2025 visit included roughly 30 events over two weeks, during which 80 people indicated they had trusted in Jesus.
“The Lord just keeps opening these doors,” Murton said. “And He’s making it pretty straightforward for me. It’s just a matter of taking the next step.”
“Matt’s story shows how God can use unexpected circumstances to extend an athlete’s influence far beyond the game,” said Blanc. “What Matt once saw as a detour became a way to serve people and share the Gospel in ways he never could have imagined.”
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ vision is to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes. Its mission is to lead every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His church. FCA’s guiding values are integrity, serving, teamwork and excellence.
Since 1954, FCA has used the powerful medium of sports and building relationships to reach the world for Jesus Christ. FCA is cultivating Christian principles by engaging, equipping and empowering coaches and athletes to know and grow in Christ and lead others to do the same so that lives are changed for current and future generations.
Visit Fellowship of Christian Athletes at fca.org and on Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly Twitter).
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To interview a Fellowship of Christian Athletes representative, contact Hamilton Strategies, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096 ext. 105, or Richard Jefferson, rjefferson@hamiltonstrategies.com.
