WATCH: First Japanese MLB player Masanori Murakami throws ceremonial pitch on Heritage Night in San Francisco

The San Francisco Giants celebrated Masanori Murakami's 60th anniversary at Oracle Park. Murakami made history in September 1964 by becoming the first Japanese-born player to play an MLB game. The Giants are celebrating their annual Japanese Heritage Night, presented by Toho International.

Murakami played two seasons with the Giants (1964-65). He had a 3-1 pitching record during which he posted an ERA of 3.43, including 100 strikeouts. He also played in the Nippon Professional Baseball League, where he went 103-82, pitching to a 364 ERA.

Murakami pitched the ceremonial first pitch on Friday, and the 80-year-old pitched a strike. Giants' teammates Willie Mays and Willie McCovey gifted Murakami a warmup jacket as a souvenir.

Here's the video:

As part of the heritage night, fans at Oracle Park enjoyed Japanese music, authentic Japanese cuisine, cultural performances and more. Proceeds from the same will be donated to help the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California.

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Masanori Murakami recalls his MLB debut with a special mention to a song helping him pitch

Much before the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominating the MLB landscape, Masanori Murakami paved the path for many Japanese superstars to take their talent across shores.

Murakami made his debut on Sept. 1, 1964, when he came in relief in the bottom of the eighth inning when the Giants were trailing 4-0 against the New York Mets at the Shea Stadium.

“The first pitch was a straight fastball,” Murakami said. “I threw it to the outside of the right-handed hitter, low on the corner and it was right on the money. I still remember it.”

When he made his way from the bullpen to the major league mound, he sang “Ue o muite aruko," a song by Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto. The song helped Masanori Murakami calm his nerves down in front of a crowd of 40,000.

“Up until the day before, I was pitching in front of a crowd of about 500,” Murakami said.

“And now I’m pitching before 40,000 people. I knew I shouldn’t get nervous. But how can I calm myself down? So I looked around the stands and hummed the song, and I thought, ‘There are quite a lot of fans here.’” [via The Asahi Shimbun].

Masanori Murakami struck out the then-Mets top slugger, Charley Smith, with a curveball. Murakami gave up a hit but followed it up with a strikeout and a groundout to complete the inning.