Looking back at an NPB legend with Cubs roots ahead of the team's trip to Japan

The Chicago Cubs' upcoming trip to Japan - which, of course, features the season-opening Tokyo Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers - also includes a pair of exhibition matchups against NPB clubs. Chicago will take on the Hanshin Tigers on March 14, followed by a game against the Yomiuri Giants on March 16.

Those tilts have largely flown under the radar, with everyone excited about the Dodgers series and all the incredible storylines that surround it, especially the Opening Day matchup between Japanese pitchers Shota Imanaga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, not to mention the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki and Seiya Suzuki all getting to play in their home country.

One story that has gone completely overlooked is the connection the Cubs have to the Hanshin Tigers - a connection in the form of former MLB outfielder and first-round pick Matt Murton.

Murton played for the Cubs for parts of four seasons, from 2005 to 2008, putting up a 105 OPS+ and slashing .294/.362/.448 before Chicago traded him to Oakland in the Rich Harden deal that also sent future AL MVP Josh Donaldson to the Athletics. Being a part of high-profile trades was kind of Murton's thing - he came to the North Side in 2004 as part of the four-team deal that brought Red Sox legend Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs.

But that's not what we're here to talk about. After bouncing between the minors and the big-leagues with Oakland and Colorado for a couple of years, he headed overseas to Japan to continue playing in the NPB - and to say he made a good first impression is putting things mildly.

Not only did he prove to be an impact bat for the Tigers, he set the Nippon Baseball League's single-season hit record in his first year with the team, dethroning Ichiro Suzuki in the process. Murton stacked up a staggering 214 hits during that 2010 campaign, becoming just the fourth NPB player ever at the time to notch a 200-hit season.

Sadly, Shogo Akiyama broke Murton's record in 2015, with a 216-hit season, but Murton's NPB career was nothing to sneeze at. He recorded more than 1,000 hits over six seasons, slashing .311/.353/.439 - and he actually returned to the Cubs organization in 2016, spending the entire year at Iowa, hitting .314 in 255 at-bats.

So as you tune in and watch the Cubs take on Hanshin in an otherwise meaningless game on March 14, let's just take a minute and remember the man, the myth, the legend that is Matt Murton.