The offseason has arrived, but there’s no rule against watching a few White Sox highlights to get us through it. Each week, I’ll pick a player and revisit five plays worth another look. No homework, no deep dive. Just a little baseball to fill the void.
Another week without White Sox baseball, another excuse to watch some highlights. Last time, Chase Meidroth handled the glove work. This week, Munetaka Murakami gets to handle the property damage.
From his first big league homer to a pair against the
Cubs, Mune gave us plenty of reasons to stop what we were doing and watch the baseball leave the yard.
Grab your morning cup of joe and settle in. The outfielders can watch these with us.
Here are five favorites listed in chronological order:
1. Hello, Major League Baseball
March 26 at Brewers
Opening Day came with a souvenir. Murakami introduced himself with his first big league home run, giving Sox fans a swing worth remembering from his debut. Welcome aboard, Mune. We’ll take more of those.
2. Make yourself at home
April 4 vs. Blue Jays
The home crowd deserved an introduction, too. Mune’s first homer at Rate Field traveled 431 feet to center at 111.1 mph off the bat — a two-run blast and a pretty convincing way to settle into the neighborhood.
3. The batter’s eye had a front-row seat
April 17 at Athletics
Bases loaded? Might as well clear them all. Murakami’s first big league grand slam sailed 431 feet over the batter’s eye in center, leaving his bat at 114.1 mph. Somewhere between contact and landing, checking the distance became mandatory.
4. One for each side of the family
May 16 vs. Cubs
One bomb against the Cubs is a treat. Two is being considerate of everyone who needs something to bring up at the next family gathering. Mune went deep twice in an 8-3 Sox win. Sorry, Cubby hubby. This one deserves another watch. It was also his first career mult-homer game.
5. Bring out the brooms
August 16 at Tigers
A tie game in the seventh needed a little Mune intervention. His two-run homer put the Sox ahead, 6-4, and Chicago finished off a 7-5 win to sweep Detroit. A go-ahead blast and a division rival sent home unhappy? That’ll do nicely.
Those are my five, but Mune gave us plenty of baseballs to track. Which homer was your favorite? Did another blast deserve a spot? Drop yours in the comments, and let me know who should get the replay treatment next.
