White Sox' Munetaka Murakami Looks the Part with Huge Grand Slam in WBC
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Munetaka Murakami did a Munetaka Murakami thing on Tuesday morning.
Team Japan was playing with house money against Czechia. The defending World Baseball Classic champs had already clinched their trip to the knockout round with a Pool C victory. With that being the case, superstar Shohei Ohtani was chilling on the bench. This left the White Sox' newest slugger as the best power hitter in the lineup, and he sure made the most of it!
Japan was shockingly held scoreless through the first seven innings of action. It wasn't until Kenya Wakatsuki smacked a double to right field that the floodgates were opened. Japan would proceed to put up a quick 5 runs, only for Murakami to step into the batter's box with the bases loaded. He took one high, missed on an off-speed pitch, took another one outside, and swung a fastball right at the top of the zone.
I'm sure you can guess what happened next.
MUNETAKA MURAKAMI GRAND SLAM 😤 pic.twitter.com/S2LEWWNdT0
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 10, 2026
Murakami's monstrous grand slam had an exit velocity of 112.1 mph and traveled 425 feet into deep right-center. The long ball put Japan up 9-0 and secured them a 4-0 start to WCB play.
White Sox fans had yet to see him hit his first moonshot of the spring, and I think it's safe to say it was worth the wait. The home run bumps Murakami up to 3 hits, 5 RBIs, and 2 walks in his first four WBC games.
Munetaka Murakami Continues Solid Spring
While Munetaka Murakami has yet to hit his first home run in a White Sox uniform, he still turned plenty of heads at Camelback Ranch. Over his four games in spring training, Murakami still tallied five hits with 2 RBIs. He may have added five strikeouts to that list, but living with swings and misses is going to be part of the Murakami experience.
Heck, if anything, Murakami exceeded expectations with the contact he made. And he still flashed his power with some incredibly hard-hit balls up the middle of the field. As long as the 26-year-old gets the ball in play, there is always going to be a chance for him to get on base and make something happen.
Murakami even showed off a little defensive talent. Some weren't sure exactly where Murakami would suit up when coming to the Majors. While he has experience at both corners, the Sox aren't short on infield prospects with potentially higher ceilings in the field. Nevertheless, instead of moving into an immediate DH role, Murakami looks primed to take over daily first base duties.
During the team's spring game against the Milwaukee Brewers – who will also serve as their Opening Day opponent – Murakami made a fantastic catch over the dugout.
Munetaka Murakami with a nice catch at the dugout in the fifth 🔥 pic.twitter.com/f8ip449vIB
— Milb Central (@milb_central) February 22, 2026
The Murakami experiment is just getting started, and there are bound to be some bumps in the road. However, Murakami is no stranger to living up to the hype. He has shown the ability to come up in big moments plenty of times before, and this latest grand slam is another reminder of just that.
Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
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