After a brutal second half slump, slugger Munetaka Murakami has hit four home runs in eight games and looks ready to give the White Sox the middle-of-the-order power they need in October.
Munetaka Murakami might be back. The Japanese sensation and Chicago White Sox rookie slugger was one of the most prolific power hitters in Major League Baseball to start his MLB career, earning a spot on the AL All-Star team and in the MLB Home Run Derby before falling into a second-half slump.
From August 1 through September 16, Murakami played in 43 games for the White Sox and hit .130 with a .578 OPS. He also struck out in roughly 50 percent of his at-bats.
There were clear changes to Murakami’s setup at the plate, and his swing had some concerning differences that could help explain his offensive struggles. Murakami had a much steeper attack angle, limiting the time his barrel spent in the strike zone, raising the launch angle of his already towering fly balls and making consistent contact more difficult.
Things got so bad that many White Sox fans advocated for Murakami to be moved down in the batting order or perhaps benched entirely. The White Sox even started to change their tune on a potential contract extension for Murakami.
What once felt like a no-brainer at the start of the offseason now felt incredibly risky for Chicago as Murakami continued to hurt the White Sox offensively.
And as he struggled, so did the offense.
In late August and early September, we started to see the White Sox struggle to score runs, with many of their key contributors going through slumps at an inopportune time. When the White Sox dropped a series to the Cleveland Guardians in mid-September, it cost them first place in the AL Central for the first time since July 4.
Now Chicago finds itself trying to reclaim that position during the final weekend of the season. And the White Sox have played well enough recently to have a fighting chance. Since the end of that series with the Guardians, they’re 6-2. During that eight-game stretch, the offense has been fairly prolific, and Munetaka Murakami has started to find his swing.
Friday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies was all the confirmation White Sox fans needed. Murakami is back. And with the damage he’s doing at the plate, he makes the White Sox a dangerous postseason team.
After going 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs against the Rockies on Friday night, Murakami now has 35 home runs and 77 RBIs in 125 games as a rookie.
Over his last eight games, he has one double, one triple, four home runs and 12 RBIs while hitting .310 with a 1.272 OPS.
If the White Sox are going to make some noise in the postseason, they need their middle-of-the-order bats to produce. They need key players like Munetaka Murakami to show up. And I think now more than ever, White Sox fans have faith that Murakami is ready for the big moment.
