28 minutes ago, Autumn Dreamin said:

This tweet from a Japanese fan that caught my attention a couple days ago:

There's a sizeable contingent (especially among Swallows fans) who are vocally invested in the idea of him carving out his own path as a core part of a growing team rather than being an ancillary piece on a ready-made contender.

One thing about the Murakami narrative that rubs me a little wrong is this idea that he's the best player and the one everyone worries about.

The best player on the White Sox wears #12.

4 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

One thing about the Murakami narrative that rubs me a little wrong is this idea that he's the best player and the one everyone worries about.

The best player on the White Sox wears #12.

I think the narrative is more about who the Sox have control over. Montgomery won’t be a free agent until 2032, so Murakami is the much bigger concern.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/05/18/chicago-white-sox-munetaka-murakami-cubs-jerry-reinsdorf-tom-ricketts-shohei-ohtani-casey-close-chris-getz

Our GOAT meeting THE GOAT

2 hours ago, DoUEvenShift said:

Our GOAT meeting THE GOAT

here's the full translation of his note from 2009:

My Future Self

Munetaka Murakami

"I don't like hard balls."

That was the first time I said it, when I was in kindergarten.

My mother's words at the time were, "If you cry over something like that, you won't be able to play baseball."

I was scolded like that sometimes. But now I've come to love it. When I was in fourth grade, I joined a club. Club practice was

Monday, Sunday, and sometimes Friday. While practicing, partly influenced by my older brother, Nakamura-kun and I joined the practice with the fifth-grade seniors. I want to thank my older brother too.

When I was in elementary school, I went to Shimonoseki for a tournament called the Castle Tribe. I went to Shimonoseki for a 2-night, 3-day trip to participate in the 6th-grade national tournament. It was a very fun 2-night, 3-day tournament. And now, elementary school baseball is over.

But the fruits of my labor are not over. My dream is to become a professional baseball player, hit a home run when my parents come to watch a game, throw the home run ball to them, and show them how much I've grown. And I want to play in the WBC and make an impact on the world stage. I will definitely make it happen.

Don't know if anyone has been paying attention to Kaz Okamoto, but I was shocked to find that he's striking out just as often as Murakami is (32%). Mune is walking a lot more (18% to 10%)

On 5/21/2026 at 3:37 AM, joejoesox said:

here's the full translation of his note from 2009:

He wrote this when he was 9?! Man, we're cooked over here in the US. No chance our 9 year olds can write or speak this eloquently.

10 hours ago, joejoesox said:

Don't know if anyone has been paying attention to Kaz Okamoto, but I was shocked to find that he's striking out just as often as Murakami is (32%). Mune is walking a lot more (18% to 10%)

For whatever reason, premier power hitters tend to get more "but look at his strikeouts" type-criticism than everyone else, even when the strikeout rates are similar. Okamoto has been a league average hitter (which is fine, to be clear) but whenever he gets talked about as a "safe" or high floor hitter, nobody brings up the 32% K rate.

On the other hand, Chase Meidroth, a player that I like, is striking out ~24% of the time this year and that doesn't seem to get brought up much either

11 hours ago, Jose Abreu said:

For whatever reason, premier power hitters tend to get more "but look at his strikeouts" type-criticism than everyone else, even when the strikeout rates are similar. Okamoto has been a league average hitter (which is fine, to be clear) but whenever he gets talked about as a "safe" or high floor hitter, nobody brings up the 32% K rate.

On the other hand, Chase Meidroth, a player that I like, is striking out ~24% of the time this year and that doesn't seem to get brought up much either

I did not realize that Meidroth has been striking out that much, that's alarming.

he's also really struggling against RHP, but crushing LHP

.226/.305/.316 (.621) / 133 AB

.370/.442/.500 (.942) / 46 AB

Murakami and Montgomery tied with 18 HR in their first 53 career games (though Colson took 15 games to get going)

5 hours ago, Autumn Dreamin said:

Murakami and Montgomery tied with 18 HR in their first 53 career games (though Colson took 15 games to get going)

GRF is not a pitcher's park in the summer...quite clearly.

 

While the Anime inserts are not new to this year’s release, they have been gaining attention. A Munetaka Murakami Anime Black parallel recently sold for $7,500. 

It’s a nice change for collectors, who don’t always need to chase ink to find value. 

Murakami Moneymaker

Murakami is having an amazing first season in MLB. He currently leads the American League with 17 home runs. 

Munetaka Murakami

1B - CWS - #5

2026 season

187

AB

.235

AVG

18

HR

0

SB

.914

OPS

The White Sox first baseman isn’t just making Chicago fans happy, but also collectors who have been pulling his MLB cards. 

On May 20, a redemption for a 2026 Bowman Chrome Rookie Autograph Orange Refractor sold for $14,000. It’s his first card to sell for five figures, but it may not be the last. 

Low-numbered parallels, chase cards, and Japanese cards have been thriving on the secondary market. 

To show the change in value, take a look at an ungraded 2021 BBM Tokyo Yakult Swallows Authentic Autograph that sold for $1,400 in November. In April, a Gem Mint version of the card sold for $6,000.

If Murakami continues to smash home runs, his card values will likely rise along with them. 

On 5/9/2026 at 1:12 PM, WhiteSox2023 said:

Blasphemy.

lol you know Frank is gonna feel that way!

Ties the rookie record for March-May HRs with a few days left to add on

On 5/11/2026 at 1:32 PM, Autumn Dreamin said:

FWIW, from CST a few days ago

Oh snap - this is quite enough for me to feel better after a tough loss. Would LOVE having Mune around for the next 10 years.

On 5/17/2026 at 7:22 PM, Autumn Dreamin said:

Imanaga said he's noticed Murakami is so well integrated with the team that he can't pick him out of the group. Never standing off on his own, regularly chatting with teammates even without Kenzo nearby, etc.

Also these shirts have been going around the clubhouse:

I MUST HAVE ONE

10 minutes ago, hi8is said:

I MUST HAVE ONE

Ask Fedde for his, since he may not it for much longer.

Edited Wednesday at 04:36 AM4 days by WhiteSox2023

2 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

Ask Fedde for his, since he may not it for much longer.

Sure hope so. He’s unfortunately been sad. Found one online to order when I can some day…

https://rotowear.com/products/murakami-sama-shirt?_pos=2&_sid=85830ed4c&_ss=r

1 minute ago, hi8is said:

Sure hope so. He’s unfortunately been sad. Found one online to order when I can some day…

https://rotowear.com/products/murakami-sama-shirt?_pos=2&_sid=85830ed4c&_ss=r

$30 bucks for a t-shirt. Good lord.

1 minute ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

$30 bucks for a t-shirt. Good lord.

Yea - 2026 prices for everything sucks. It’s been awful being a consumer since “COVID”.

2 minutes ago, hi8is said:

Yea - 2026 prices for everything sucks. It’s been awful being a consumer since “COVID”.

I just saw @WestEddy mention that @caulfield12 lives in Wuhan so we can blame him. 🤣

8 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

I just saw @WestEddy mention that @caulfield12 lives in Wuhan so we can blame him. 🤣

Easier to blame Sleepy Joe, even when he wasn't the president yet.

Oh right inflation caused by government stimulus spending, just like 2009.

Ofc the alternative was something out of an Ayn Rand novel blended with Mr.Potter from It's a Wonderful Life.

27 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Easier to blame Sleepy Joe, even when he wasn't the president yet.

Oh right inflation caused by government stimulus spending, just like 2009.

Ofc the alternative was something out of an Ayn Rand novel blended with Mr.Potter from It's a Wonderful Life.

You know better than this, caulfield. For shame…

Edited Wednesday at 05:27 AM4 days by WhiteSox2023

9 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

You know better than this, caulfield. For shame…

Gaslighting 101 👎🏻😆