05/18/26 07:50:00
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05/18 07:49 CDT Munetaka Murakami looks right at home with young Chicago White
Sox
Munetaka Murakami looks right at home with young Chicago White Sox
By JAY COHEN
AP Baseball Writer
CHICAGO (AP) --- Munetaka Murakami has a fun handshake with fellow infielder
Miguel Vargas. He playfully agreed that a magic wand routine with teammate Mike
Vasil helped him slam another homer. His No. 5 jersey dots the stands at Rate
Field.
The Japanese slugger wasn't supposed to end up with the Chicago White Sox. But
it's working out quite well at the moment.
Murakami looks right at home with a promising group of young position players
in Chicago, and they have been mashing the ball so far this season. Murakami
has an AL-leading 17 homers and a team-high 32 RBIs through Sunday's action,
and the surprising White Sox are tied for second in the majors with 66 homers
overall.
"It's the full lineup, one through nine. Feeding off each other," Murakami said
through his interpreter, Kenzo Yagi. "It's a great confidence builder, seeing
other players get good results. I just want to be that contributor and
contribute to the lineup and contribute to the team's wins."
Murakami's 17 homers are tied for third-most by a player in major league
history in his first 45 games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He went
deep in a record eight consecutive series openers from April 14 to May 8.
When Murakami strides to the plate, one of baseball's three true outcomes is
the likely result. He also ranks among the major league leaders with 36 walks
and 66 strikeouts.
"He's a superstar. There's no other way to do it," White Sox pitcher Davis
Martin said. "You play against guys like (Mike) Trout, you play against guys
like (Aaron) Judge and Yordan Alvarez and he's doing the same things that they
are. It's an incredible thing to watch."
Murakami is the fourth Japanese-born player to play for the White Sox, joining
Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07) and
outfielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Takatsu managed Murakami in Japan.
"He's had to make a ton of adjustments to get comfortable," White Sox manager
Will Venable said. "And I know that probably is not easy for him. So yeah, he's
just a guy who has that flexibility to come into different environments and
then get comfortable and I think this speaks a lot to his character and who he
is."
The 26-year-old Murakami was Central League MVP in 2021 and '22. He was limited
to 56 games last season because of an oblique injury, but he batted .273 with
22 homers and 47 RBIs.
He entered MLB's posting system in November. When the market was lighter than
expected --- there was some exaggerated concern about his ability to handle
velocity --- the White Sox signed the slugger to a $34 million, two-year
contract in December.
During Murakami's fast start this season, White Sox general manager Chris Getz
has fielded some laudatory calls from other GMs.
"One GM said ?Congratulations, you beat the industry on this one,'" Getz said,
"so that was nice to hear, and it's worked out and you know we feel really
excited about having him in a White Sox uniform and he's helping us win
baseball games."
Murakami was a late arrival for his first spring training game after he got
caught in some traffic. But it has been smooth sailing most of the time.
He hit a solo homer in his first three regular-season games. He crushed a
431-foot grand slam in a 9-2 victory at the Athletics on April 17, beginning a
five-game homer streak. He connected for a three-run shot in an 8-7 victory
over the Angels last month.
With Vasil continuing to wave a magic wand in the White Sox dugout, Murakami
went deep twice in his first career multihomer game on Saturday night against
the crosstown Cubs.
He isn't sneaking up on anyone anymore.
"He's a dangerous hitter and a guy you definitely have to be careful with,"
Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.
Murakami wants to get better, too. He said his biggest challenge has been
adjusting to new pitchers every day, and he is growing more comfortable at
first base.
Asked about his biggest challenge in moving to the majors, he paused and smiled.
"Compared to Japan, here, the environment's totally different," he said. "The
space, the fields and everything is really nice. That's the ... biggest
surprise."
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
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