Tag / Munetaka Murakami

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Fitbit 12 – Week 28

Another great week, going over goal two days as my step challenge at work came to an end.  The week got off to a great start on Sunday, with a trip to Rate Field for Munetaka Murakami bobblehead day leading to 7300 steps.  The good times continued on Monday, wrapping up the step challenge with 7900 steps.  Things slowed down a bit on Tuesday, falling down to 6200 steps.  I rebounded on Wednesday, with a White Sox/Yankees tilt leading to 9100 steps.  A busy Thursday left me with 6000 steps, with Friday dropping by a mere 12 steps to also score 6000.  A rainy Saturday ended the week with 5200 steps.

Total steps: 47,939

Daily average: 6848.4

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Three Homers

In last night’s victory over the Rays, the White Sox offense saw home runs from Munetaka Murakami, Colson Montgomery, and Miguel Vargas for the fifth time this season, trying the major league record.  The record was first set in 1953 by the then-Brooklyn Dodgers, with contributions from Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, and Duke Snider and has now been tied an additional nine times.  The current White Sox are the second set of South Siders to have a piece of the record, following the 2004 trio of Joe Crede, Paul Konerko, and Jose Valentin.

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2026 All Star Break Batting Leaders

With the All-Star Game in the books and a few days of rest before the unofficial second half kicks off, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 24 games I’ve attended so far this season, starting with:
Home Runs

Name Total
Munetaka Murakami 5
Miguel Vargas 4
Colson Montgomery 4
Andrew Benintendi 3
Michael Conforto 3
Dansby Swanson 3
Ian Happ 3
Pete Crow-Armstrong 3
Tristan Peters 3

Hits

Name Total
Miguel Vargas 18
Chase Meidroth 15
Colson Montgomery 13
Ian Happ 13
Andrew Benintendi 13
Michael Busch 13

Runs

Name Total
Miguel Vargas 16
Ian Happ 12
Continue reading →
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Setting More Records

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.

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Setting Records

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.

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A Signing!

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.