The Chicago White Sox are going to lose a lot of games this season. Let's just be honest about that. But they've got something special in rookie Munetaka Murakami.
The 24-year-old Japanese star has homered in each of his first three regular season MLB games, joining elite company with Trevor Story, Kyle Lewis, and Chase DeLauter as the only players to accomplish that feat.
Three games. Three homers. Video game stuff.
"I'm just trying to put good swings on good pitches," Murakami said through a translator after Sunday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers. "I want to help this team win."
The White Sox got swept by the Brewers and are 0-3 to start the season, but that doesn't diminish what Murakami is doing. This is must-watch baseball.
For context, Murakami was a superstar in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league, hitting 56 home runs in 2022 and winning multiple MVP awards. The question was always: Can he do it against MLB pitching?
Three games in, the answer is a resounding yes.
The transition from Japanese baseball to MLB is never easy. The pitching is different, the travel is grueling, the strike zone varies. Some players struggle for months trying to adjust. Murakami is making it look effortless.
Chicago fans are going through a rebuild, and rebuilds are painful. But watching a young star emerge? That's the fun part. That's what keeps you coming back when the wins aren't there yet.
Munetaka Murakami is giving White Sox fans something to celebrate, and in a lost season, that matters.
