Munetaka Murakami flashes his moonshot potential for White Sox with Opening Day home run

MILWAUKEE — The White Sox can do without more double-digit losses like the one they suffered Thursday, but they’ll happily take another 35 or 40 games like that from rookie slugger Munetaka Murakami.

The Japanese import introduced himself to the big leagues with a 384-foot exclamation mark off the right-field deck at American Family Field, giving Sox fans at least two bits of joy during an otherwise miserable 14-2 Opening Day defeat to the Brewers (Chase Meidroth smashed a bomb of his own).

The Sox are hoping Murakami’s first career hit was the first of many home runs to come from the newly arrived first baseman, whose promising debut heralded a long-needed shot of power to the heart of the order and a fresh dose of excitement for the rebuilding franchise.

“It was a really exciting experience,” Murakami said via translator Kenzo Yagi. “I was kind of surprised. I was fairly collected in the box and in the game as well. It was a great atmosphere and I was relieved to be here.”

Just as encouraging were Murakami’s first two career plate appearances on a 1-for-2 afternoon, working full counts to draw walks from Milwaukee fireballer Jacob Misiorowski, who struck out 11 Sox. Murakami was one of just two Sox, along with fellow newcomer Luisangel Acuña, not to strike out against Brewers pitchers, who fanned a whopping 20 to start the season.

“It was purely exciting to go against that strong of a high-caliber player. I had fun facing him,” Murakami said of Misiorowski. “I was able to look at the ball really well. I was really patient in the walks and I was seeing the ball very well. I’ll try to keep that up and get comfortable at the bat.”

Concerns over Murakami’s hefty strikeout rates with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows were a key factor driving down his offseason market into the price range of the Sox, who signed him to a two-year, $34 million deal.

He whiffed 180 times for a 29.5% strikeout rate in 2024, his most recent full season before injury setbacks last year. That tempered scouts’ excitement over Murakami’s 246 home runs in his first eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, including 56 in 2022, but it was tempting enough for the Sox, who haven’t gotten reliable power at first base since Jose Abreu’s heyday.

As for question marks on Murakami’s defense, the 26-year-old didn’t draw any attention in his debut, a compliment for any first baseman. A superstar third baseman in his home country, Murakami drilled down at first with Sox coaches in spring training and for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

“It was great, a great day overall for him,” manager Will Venable said.

Time will tell if he can keep up with the MLB game that’s significantly faster than Japan's — and how long it’ll take big-league pitchers to catch up with him.

“I’m getting used to the rules, obviously the pitch clock, the timeouts,” Murakami said ahead of his debut. “As I get into the field, as I get more at-bats along the season, I’ll definitely think about what I can do in the routines as much as possible and figure out where I am comfortable.”

The well-coiffed infielder hasn’t shown any sign of discomfort under the microscope of Sox fans or his legions of followers back home, with about a dozen members of the Japanese press corps following every move of his stateside ascent.

Against that limelight, general manager Chris Getz praised Murakami’s “work ethic and the desire to continue to get better and really prove he can play at the major league level.”

“We are not asking him to do anything above what’s he’s capable of doing,” Getz said. “We’ve got other players here to help support him. They are getting comfortable at the major league level just like he is. We want him to go out there and play the game that he brings to the table.”