Some nuggets — @soxnerd style — on White Sox’s signee Munetaka Murakami:
*THE DETAILS: The White Sox announced the signing of Munetaka Murakami on Sunday. He received a two-year, $34 million contract.
*THE UPSHOT: The White Sox have signed one of the most feared sluggers in the history of Japanese professional baseball
*MEASURABLES: 6-foot-2, 213-pounder hails from Kumamoto, Japan … He will be the first native of Kumamoto to play in the Major Leagues … Left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing first and third baseman turns 26 on Feb. 2nd
*NICKNAME: He told Sox fans to call him “Mune” (he pronounced it “Moonay”) in a social media post shortly after signing
*FAR EAST FRIENDS: “Mune” will be the fourth Japanese player to appear in a game for the Sox, joining pitcher Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07) and outfielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Like “Mune,” Shingo and Tadahito were signed by the Sox directly from Japan while Fukudome joined the Sox after four MLB seasons
*HE’S NO. 5! “Mune” is going to wear No. 5 for the Sox after donning 55 for the Yakult Swallows of the Japanese Central League
Slated for first base, Murakami is destined to be the first Sox player to wear 5 and man first since Matt Merullo played the final two innings at the position in a 10-0 loss at Seattle in the penultimate game of manager Jeff Torborg’s tenure on Oct. 5, 1991.
The last start at first base by a Sox player with 5 on his back was by Merullo in a 1-0 win over Baltimore on Aug. 4, 1991 at “new” Comiskey Park. In that game, Frank Thomas spoiled Mike Mussina’s big league debut with a sixth-inning homer before 41,059 on the Southside. Charlie Hough fired a complete game five-hitter for his 193rd win.
Other Sox players to wear 5 and play first are Luis Salazar, Tony Muser, John Romano, Bill Skowron, Joe Cunningham, Roy Sievers, Sam Mele, Bert Haas, Bob Boyd and Jimmy Dykes.
*FOR OPENERS: Should “Mune” start at first base on Opening Day, he will be the first left-handed hitter to do that for the Sox since Greg Walker in 1989.
Cunningham, from 1962 to 1964, is the only Sox player to wear No. 5 and start at first base on Opening Day.
*FOR OPENERS II: Despite his long career in Japan, “Mune” will carry rookie MLB rookie status into 2025.
Murakami is on track to make his MLB debut on Opening Day at first base. He could be the first player to do that for the Sox since Jose Abreu in 2014.
Murakami will be just the seventh Sox player to make an MLB debut on Opening Day at first (Chuck Gandil 1910, Tex Jones 1911, Earl Sheely 1921, Zeke Bonura 1930, John Matias 1970 and Abreu). Matias is the only left-handed batter to do this.
*FOR OPENERS III: If “Mune” starts at DH on Opening Day, he will be the first Sox player to do so in an MLB debut.
Murakami will be just the sixth player to accomplish this should it happen.
Notables who have done this are Eddie Murray for the 1977 Orioles and Shohei Ohtani for the 2018 Angels.
*THE STATS: Murakami slashed .270/.394/.557 with 246 home runs, 146 doubles, 647 RBIs, 614 walks, 977 strikeouts in 892 games and 3,78 plate appearances for Yakult between 2018 and 2026
*FAMILIAR FACE: Speaking of Shingo … the Sox reliever in 2004 and 2005 was “Mune’s” manager for Yakult from 2020 to 2025
*OH YES! Murakami set the Nippon Professional Baseball record for home runs by a Japanese born player with 56 dingers in 2022. He broke Sadaharu Oh’s 58-year old record.
*2025: Murakami hit .273 with a .379 on-base percentage, .663 slugging percentage, 22 homers in 56 games for Yakult. … An oblique injury prompted him to begin 2025 with Yakult’s team in the Japanese Eastern (minor) League where he slashed .364/.462/.636 with two homers and five RBI in 13 games
*AWARDS: Murakami’s Japan awards/accomplishment resume:
—-named the NPB Rookie of the Year in 2019
—-won an Olympic gold medal in 2020 where he drove in the winning run with a homer in the title game for Japan’s first gold
—Central League MVP Award in 2021 and 2022 … he was the unanimous winner in 2022 (the first since Oh in 1977)
—-Central League Triple Crown winner in 2022 … joins Randy Bass and Oh as the only triple crown winners in Japanese Central League history
—-first player in NPB history to homer in five consecutive at-bats on Aug. 2, 2022
—-owner of four All-Star berths
—-led Yakult to an NPB championship in 2021
—-led Japan to a gold medal in the 2023 World Baseball Classic which included a 432-foot homer (115.1 mph exit velocity)
—-youngest Japanese player to hit 100 home runs and 200 home runs