Murakami's 5-game HR streak makes all kinds of history

PHOENIX – Many superheroes carry additional special weapons on their belts.

Check out Batman as one example.

And White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami is no different from his blessed brethren.

Yes, it is safe to discuss Murakami’s almost superpowers of success, after he tied a White Sox franchise record by homering in a fifth straight game during an 11-7 setback to the Diamondbacks on Wednesday night at Chase Field.

His 454-foot blast off Ryan Thompson, coming with nobody out and Miguel Vargas on base in the seventh, marked the longest White Sox homer of the 2026 season, per Statcast.

In amassing these astonishing early numbers, Murakami remains centered by a message written in Japanese on his belt, which he spoke of prior to the loss.

“It’s a very important phrase that I got from my high school teacher, manager, who taught me,” said Murakaim through interpreter Kenzo Yagi. “It’s an important phrase that is important to me. That’s why I have it embedded into the belt so that I really focus on those words every day.”

What exactly does the message mean? It begins with being patient.

“Enduring hardship,” Murakami continued. “Then going over [those] obstacles so you can get success even in those hardships.”

There haven’t been a ton of hardships for Murakami since joining the White Sox on a two-year, $34 million free-agent deal from Japan. It could be and should be argued that the White Sox are in their improved position as this rebuild moves forward, in part due to Murakami’s presence.

Let’s take a look at some of the records Murkami has set or equaled with just over 100 plate appearances on his Major League resume.

• Tied the franchise for most consecutive games with a home run, joining A.J. Pierzynski (2012), Paul Konerko (2011), Carlos Lee (2003), Frank Thomas (twice in 1994), Ron Kittle (1983) and Greg Luzinski (1983).
• Tied the record for most consecutive games with a home run for a Japanese-born player, pulling even with Shohei Ohtani, who Murakami talked of staying in contact with via text once the season started.

• Equaled the longest homer streak by an MLB rookie, now done 13 times, including by Kittle with the White Sox in 1983, per Elias Sports.
• Since 1900, he is tied with Trevor Story and George Scott for the fourth-most home runs in his first 24 career games. Aristides Aquino (2018-19) and Rhys Hoskins (2017) at 12 and Gary Sanchez (2015-16) at 11 are ahead of him.
• Wednesday’s contest also marked the fourth straight game in which Colson Montgomery and Munetaka Murakami both homered. They're the first pair of teammates in MLB history to each homer in four consecutive games.
• Murakami has the fewest career games to 10 homers in White Sox history at 24, checking in at one less than Zeke Bonura in 1934.
• Hitting is contagious, as the White Sox have shown with 15 homers in their last five games. Murakami is powering that suddenly powerful force.

“When you have this type of unique guy, I just try to observe as much as I can from him and learn,” said third baseman Miguel Vargas, who homered in his third straight game as the White Sox fell to 3-2 on this road trip. “Hopefully, I learn how to hit the ball like that.”

“I'm just running out of things to say,” said White Sox manager Will Venable of Murakami. “Obviously, he continues to put himself in a really good spot to take good swings on good pitches, making great swing decisions, and making a ton of contact. And when he hits it, he hits it really hard. Even the singles he's hitting, he's hitting hard, and, obviously, the damage is incredible, too. So, yeah, it's impressive to watch.”

Murakami has struck out 32 times, but swing-and-miss was a known in his offensive game. He also features a polished approach at the plate, with 21 walks and a .404 on-base percentage. Of his 21 hits, 11 are singles and 10 are homers.

There are no special numbers that the left-handed slugger specifically studies in this world of deep statistical analysis. It’s all about the swing and how he feels with it at the plate.

“Right now, my swing is pretty good overall. It’s still early in the season, so I still have to keep adjusting to the pitchers, but right now I’m swinging really well,” Murakami said. “If the stats do come up as all good, that will be wonderful. I’m not really focused on any particular stat.

“We’re definitely influencing each other, and all of the lineup getting a lot of runs in is obviously a good thing. Other than that, I’m really disappointed that we lost today. We’ve just got to get out there tomorrow and really win the series.”