Super-Rare SSP Becomes Second-Highest Munetaka Murakami Sale
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Munetaka Murakami is playing his rookie season in MLB with the Chicago White Sox, on a two-year contract. Before making his MLB debut, he played eight seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and participated in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for Team Japan twice. Murakami, or the Southside Samurai, a nickname given to him by the White Sox broadcaster, holds the record for most home runs in a single season by a Japanese-born player in the NPB. In his eight seasons in the NPB, he hit 246 home runs and drove in 647 runs while batting .270.
In 2023, Murakami would participate in his first WBC, an international tournament held every three years, where players can represent their countries. This is where the whole world would notice the talented player, the year after he hit 56 home runs. In the semi-final game against Mexico, in the bottom of the ninth inning and down by one run, Murakami would blast a walk-off two-run double to put Japan in the finals against Team USA. Murakami would also play a key role in the finals by hitting a solo home run to tie the game in the bottom of the second inning.
Murakami is coming off an injury and will return to the lineup tonight, against the Athletics, for a home game. Murakami has been a huge success in Chicago; in the 57 games he has played, he has hit 20 home runs and driven in 47 runs. The biggest part that White Sox fans are probably most excited about, they are tied for first place right now with the Cleveland Guardians.
Murakami's card market has been very strong, most likely because of the players who came before him. Collectors have seen in The Hobby how quickly Japanese-born players' markets can skyrocket when they have success in MLB. Here is a look at the most recent sale, which is the number two highest sale for any Murakami card.
2026 Bowman Chrome Kanji Anime Munetaka Murakami
Bowman has produced the anime card, inspired by the 1955 Bowman set, featuring a television background and Japanese anime and manga art. In 2026, the Kanji Anime card was introduced, and they are a rare find. The odds of pulling a Kanji Anime card from 2026 Bowman are 1 in 232,824 hobby packs. The checklist for the regular anime cards is 29 cards, and the Kanji set consists of seven Japanese-born players. The difference is that the name is written in Kanji rather than English. The seven cards are players of Sadaharu Oh, Munetaka Murakami, Tatsuya Imai, Shotaro Morii, Hideo Nomo, Kazuma Okamoto, and Shohei Ohtani.
The sale occurred on July 8th for $20,000, which is the second-highest sale for any Murakami card. The highest sale was a redemption card from Topps Chrome Black of Murakami's Superfractor. That sale was on Jun 6th for $74,420. Murakami continues to be a chase player for any 2026 product for his rookie cards.
On Jun 17th, the red anime card sold for $15,000.
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Craig Cormier lives in New York City with his wife, Stephanie, and dog, Ziggy. He is a passionate sports card collector, focusing primarily on baseball, basketball, and football. He proudly roots for the Yankees, Knicks, and Jets. One of his biggest sports goals is to visit every Major League Baseball stadium—and he is already halfway there! Outside of collecting, he enjoys playing softball, attending trade nights at local card shops, and exploring card shows.