Murakami's Rapid Power Surge

Munetaka Murakami reached 10 home runs in the Chicago White Sox’s first 24 games, the fastest start by a Japanese Major League player. (x.com) He got there by homering in five straight games, including a 451-foot shot to right-center field against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 22. The streak tied the Major League rookie record for consecutive games with a home run. (apnews.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Murakami debuted on March 26, 2026, and through 24 games he had 10 homers, 19 runs batted in, a.256 batting average and a 1.026 on-base plus slugging percentage, according to ESPN’s game log and player page. (mlb.com) (espn.com) The run has come on a White Sox club that was 9-15 after the April 22 loss in Arizona, fourth in the American League Central. Murakami’s power has been one of the few constants in Chicago’s opening month. (espn.com) (mlb.com) Murakami arrived with a power résumé that already made him one of Japan’s biggest hitters. He signed a two-year, $34 million contract with Chicago in December 2025 after hitting a Japanese-born-player record 56 home runs for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2022. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) That 2022 season also made him the youngest Triple Crown winner in Nippon Professional Baseball history, and he left Japan with 246 career home runs over eight seasons. Scouts long viewed his left-handed power as the tool most likely to carry over to Major League pitching. (espn.com) (sports.yahoo.com) His five-game streak also put him alongside Shohei Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki among Japanese-born players to homer in four straight Major League games, before Murakami extended it to five. MLB.com said he had stayed in contact with Ohtani by text after the season started. (bleacherreport.com) (mlb.com) For now, the numbers are simple: 24 games, 10 home runs, and a streak that turned Murakami’s first month in the majors into a daily event in both Chicago and Japan. (x.com) (espn.com)