Munetaka Murakami’s historic power surge has him climbing record books early, putting both MLB rookie marks and White Sox franchise history within reach just weeks into his career.
Right now, there are 29 Major League Baseball front offices regretting not making a harder push for Munetaka Murakami last winter.
Murakami made his long-awaited transition from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball to the United States this past offseason, and despite his accolades as the all-time single-season home run leader in Japan and his highlights on the international stage, teams were hesitant to commit to a long-term contract.
Doubts about his ability to handle velocity, along with the pursuit of more proven free agents at similar positions, cooled Murakami’s market and opened the door for the Chicago White Sox.
It was Chicago that got the deal done at $34 million over two years. And within his first month in MLB, Murakami is already making history on multiple fronts.
After homering in all three games of a weekend series against the Athletics, Murakami is now among baseball’s home run leaders, with eight (8) in his first 22 MLB games. He’s also emerging as one of the purest “three true outcome” players in the game.
Murakami’s eight home runs are the most ever by a Japanese-born player in his first 22 MLB games.
He is also the first rookie in the 2000s to record eight home runs and 20 walks in his first 22 MLB games.
There are still nine games remaining on the White Sox schedule in the month of April, which gives Murakami ample opportunity to add to both MLB and franchise history.
The all-time record for home runs by an MLB rookie before May 1 belongs to former White Sox first baseman José Abreu (2014), who shares the record with Aaron Judge (2017) at 10 home runs.
The White Sox franchise record for home runs before May belongs to Paul Konerko, who hit 11 back in 2010.
Murakami is within striking distance of both marks, and he’s not doing it with wall-scrapers. He is the only player in baseball with two home runs hit at 114+ mph exit velocity, and a pair of his home runs in Sacramento over the weekend were eye-opening in terms of distance.
It may seem premature to compare Murakami to a star like Kyle Schwarber when he’s just 22 games into his MLB career. But up to this point, the comparison is very real.
Schwarber’s current slash line sits at .213/.357/.525/.882 with seven home runs, 14 walks, and 34 strikeouts.
Murakami has him beat in nearly every category, posting a .207/.376/.542/.918 slash line with eight home runs, 20 walks, and 31 strikeouts.
A Kyle Schwarber-type profile was the dream projection for Murakami when the White Sox signed him. It doesn’t matter if he strikes out 200+ times in a season if he stays disciplined, takes his walks, and punishes mistakes in the zone.
He’s been doing exactly that so far, and notably, he’s hitting home runs on a variety of pitch types and locations.
Take the series against the Athletics, for example. Murakami’s grand slam on Friday night came off a 98 mph fastball from a right-handed reliever.
On Saturday, he went the other way on a 73 mph curveball on the outside corner in a lefty-lefty matchup.
Then on Sunday, he punished a lefty sweeper that caught too much of the middle of the plate.
It doesn’t matter the pitch type or velocity. If you make a mistake to Munetaka Murakami, he’s going to make you pay. And that might be the clearest indicator yet that he’s going to sustain production as one of the more prolific power bats in the game all year.
He’s already made history, and there are more records still within reach. Time will tell if he challenges the MLB rookie record or the White Sox franchise mark. But one thing is for sure—the White Sox got a good one, and there are a lot of GMs living with some regret right now.