Murakami Hits 10th

Munetaka Murakami reached 10 home runs in his first 24 Major League games on Wednesday night, the fastest such start by a Japanese-born player. (mlb.com) The Chicago White Sox rookie hit a two-run shot off Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Ryan Thompson in the seventh inning at Chase Field on April 22. Major League Baseball said the drive traveled 454 feet, and the Associated Press listed it at 451 feet. (mlb.com) (usnews.com) The homer was Murakami’s fifth in five straight games, tying the Major League rookie record and matching Shohei Ohtani’s longest home run streak by a Japanese-born player. It also gave him the White Sox franchise record for quickest to 10 homers at 24 games, one game faster than Zeke Bonura in 1934. (mlb.com) (usnews.com) Murakami arrived in Chicago on a two-year, $34 million contract announced on December 21, 2025, after starring for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Nippon Professional Baseball. He made his MLB debut on March 26, 2026, and homered in each of his first two big-league games. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) (mlb.com 3) His power was already established in Japan. Murakami hit 56 home runs for Yakult in 2022, breaking Sadaharu Oh’s single-season record for a Japanese-born player in Nippon Professional Baseball. (mlb.com) The early Major League numbers show more than a hot week. Through April 20, Murakami had eight home runs in 22 games, a 95 mile-per-hour average exit velocity and a 26.2% barrel rate, with only Aaron Judge, James Wood and Shohei Ohtani ahead of him in that measure at the time. (mlb.com) That surge has pushed him near the top of the league leaderboard. After Wednesday’s game, the Associated Press reported Murakami’s 10 home runs ranked second in the majors behind Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, who had 11. (usnews.com) Murakami’s opening month has turned a White Sox signing into one of baseball’s early-season storylines, with his next game now carrying a chance to hold the Japanese-born home run streak record by himself. (mlb.com)