With his seventh inning home run last night against the Twins, Munetaka Murakami became the first rookie in MLB history to reach the 20-home run plateau before the start of June. The previous rookie mark of 19 was held by Pete Alonso and Mark McGwire. He joins Frank Thomas and Jim Thome as the only White Sox players overall to reach the mark.
The White Sox have four more games scheduled through the remainder of May.
Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami has been on a tear, tying league and team records with home runs in each of his last five games heading into yesterday’s tilt against the Diamondbacks. That streak ties the White Sox franchise record, following A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee, Frank Thomas (twice!), Ron Kittle, and Greg Luzinski. He also pulled even with Shohei Ohtani for the longest streak by a Japanese-born player and became just the thirteenth rookie in MLB history to score a five-game homer streak.
Wednesday’s game was also the fourth straight game that both Murakami and Colson Montgomery have homered, making them the first set of teammates in MLB history to pull off that achievement.
Munetaka Murakami, a 25-year-old left-handed slugger from Japan, is coming to the south side, signing a two-year, $34 million contract with the White Sox. Murakami set the single-season home run record in the NPB in 2022 en route to the Triple Crown, swatting 56 in 141 games for the Yakult Swallows. With the posting fee, the White Sox are on the hook for a total of $40.575 million.
Murakami does come with some question marks, which is why he fell from the expected nine-figure deal he was hoping to get when he posted in November, mainly contact issues and injury concerns. His strikeout rate has approached 30% in recent seasons in a league that does not look for strikeouts like MLB pitchers do. He’s also missed significant time the past two seasons, thanks to an oblique strain, a broken toe, and elbow surgery. He’s expected to play first base for the White Sox, so his defensive limitations will likely be minimized.
Murakami becomes the first Japanese player to suit up for the White Sox since Kosuke Fukudome in 2012 and the first one signed directly from Japan since Tadahito Iguchi in 2005. Can he help boost the White Sox offense enough to help them avoid a fourth-straight 100-loss season? That is certainly the hope.