Munenori Kawasaki once famously quipped that “a monkey never cramps,” and at 44 years old, the Japanese fan-favorite is proving that he doesn’t either.
Baseball United, the first-ever professional baseball league in the Middle East and South Asia, concluded its inaugural season with the Dubai-based Mid East Falcons crowned champions following an 8-1 victory over the Mumbai Cobras in Game 3 of the best-of-three United Series. Right in the middle of the Falcons’ offense was none other than Munenori Kawasaki, who hit .417 for the series, including two RBI in the clinching game. The veteran batted .381 with a .976 OPS during the regular season.
When asked how the achievement compared to the rest of his career, dating all the way back to 2000, Kawasaki didn’t hesitate, telling World Baseball Network, “This is the best. My favorite. Ichi-ban. Wow!”
Alongside Kawasaki, several other former NPB players were on the championship squad, including Shotaro Kasahara, Shuhei Fukuda, Hiroyuki Nakajima, and many more.
Kawasaki last appeared in Major League Baseball in 2016 for the Chicago Cubs and in Nippon Professional Baseball in 2017 for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, but his playing career never truly slowed down. Since then, he has remained active on the field, most notably through an ongoing six-year stint with the independent league Tochigi Golden Braves.
The UAE now represents the latest chapter in Kawasaki’s globe-spanning career, as the infielder’s clutch hitting and infectious energy have carried him across an extraordinary range of baseball cultures, including Japan, the United States, Canada, Taiwan, Cuba, and Mexico, where he appeared in the 2025 Caribbean Series.
