'Strikeout third' but home runs, 'surpassing Ohtani' Murakami's power... MLB home run + walk third-place 'strange stats'

*This content was translated by AI.

Munetaka Murakami (26, Chicago White Sox) is surprising the big leagues with his incredible power, hitting three consecutive home runs to boost his value.

On the 20th (Korean time), Murakami started as the third hitter and first baseman in an away game against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, California, for the 2026 MLB season, recording one hit in five at-bats with two strikeouts and two RBIs after hitting a two-run home run.

He hit three consecutive home runs starting from the first game against the Athletics on the 18th. While his season batting average and on-base percentage dropped slightly from 0.209 and 0.386 to 0.208 (15 hits in 72 at-bats) and 0.376 respectively, his slugging percentage rose from 0.522 to 0.542, and his OPS (on-base plus slugging) reached 0.918.

In 22 games since his big league debut, he has gone hitless in nine games and recorded a multi-hit game only once, yet he has already hit his eighth home run. More than half of his hits are home runs.

Murakami is a power hitter who represents Japan. He was the first pure Japanese player to hit the most home runs in a single season in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with 56, and he hit 246 home runs over eight seasons.

The issue was his contact ability. He has been named strikeout king three times and has only surpassed a .300 batting average in a single season.

There was significant doubt about whether Murakami's power hitting would translate to the big leagues, where pitchers throw faster and throw a variety of breaking balls, leading to a disappointing contract worth 2 years and 34 million dollars (approximately 49.9 billion won).

In contrast, another Japanese power hitter, Kazuma Okamoto, secured a better contract worth 4 years and 60 million dollars (approximately 88 billion won) with the Toronto Blue Jays, leveraging his more refined hitting skills.

However, looking at the current situation, the true winner is the Chicago White Sox. Although he has 31 strikeouts, tying for third in the American League (AL), he also ranks third in walks, maintaining a balance. Okamoto has only three home runs and an OPS of 0.658. He is also ahead of Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers, OPS 0.915), who has five home runs.

Most importantly, his third-place ranking in home runs in the AL more than offsets the disadvantage of his high strikeout count. He trails only Jordan Alvarez (Houston, 10 home runs) and Aaron Judge (New York Yankees, 9 home runs).

His batting average with runners in scoring position is also low at 0.214, but it is higher than his season average, and his OPS in those situations is an impressive 0.976. He has recorded 16 RBIs and 16 runs scored, and among team batters with at least 20 plate appearances, he ranks first in both walks and on-base percentage.

It is true that he has not easily been able to hit big league pitchers, but his exceptional power and ability to select pitches well have boosted his value. Although overshadowed by his image as a strikeout king, he recorded the walk title four times during his NPB days and has had over 100 walks in three seasons, proving he is a skilled eye player.

Today's game was a microcosm of Murakami's performance this season. In the top of the first inning, he swung and missed at a slider from Jeffrey Springs that drifted outside the zone, resulting in a strikeout. In the second inning, with the team leading 4-0 and two outs with no runners on base, he grounded out to the catcher on a sweeper that drilled the center of the plate.

He had a hit in the fifth inning. This time, he did not miss the mistake pitch. With no outs and a runner on first base in a 1-1 count, he swung at Springs' 83.1 mph (133.7 km/h) slider and launched a powerful hit at 114.1 mph (183.6 km/h) that traveled 129 meters to the gap between left and center field for a large two-run home run. At the moment of contact, Murakami sensed a home run and calmly watched the ball.

He then fell silent again. In the seventh inning with no outs and a runner on first, he grounded out to the second baseman against Mason Barnett, and in the ninth inning, he struck out swinging at a low sweeper from Scott Barlow.

Nevertheless, the White Sox, who had built an early lead, won 7-4. With a record of 8 wins and 14 losses, the White Sox moved up to fourth place in the AL Central Division.

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*This content was translated by AI.