CHICAGO -- Munetaka Murakami is going to hit home runs for the White Sox.
General manager Chris Getz hopes the 6-foot-2, 213-pound left-handed slugger clears the fences many a time after the two-year, $34 million contract was signed, and announced during a press conference Monday afternoon at Rate Field. But in just the short time Murakami spoke, it’s apparent he possesses a presence as big as his physical stature.
“Hello. My name is Munetaka Murakami,” he said in English at the start of his opening statement. “White Sox Nation, you guys are in my heart.”
At that point, Murakami held up a pair of white socks and proclaimed, “White Sox!”
“The biggest thing to highlight is the personality,” White Sox hitting coach Derek Shomon told MLB.com prior to the press conference. “This is a young guy that wants to compete. This guy wants to work, and he wants to win. There’s alignment there with what’s already happening on the South Side.”
“I felt the White Sox were the best fit for myself, and they would help me become the best player I am,” said Murakami through interpreter David Yamamoto. “I really believe in the vision of this organization.”
That vision becomes increasingly clearer with a 25-year-old true power threat in the middle of the lineup and playing first base.
White Sox discussions about the possibility of signing Murakami began in August, were revisited in November and talked about more internally at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla. A number of teams checked in on Murakami, but it was ultimately about finding the best fit.
Adding Murakami to a young and developing team becomes the perfect relationship on both sides, giving Murakami a chance to grow with this group while also letting him show his skills without initial playoff pressure. It was Thursday night of this past week when Getz felt this pursuit was becoming a reality.
“To add power is something we need, we desperately need,” Getz said. “So, of the left-handed variety, too, which is always really attractive in our game, just based on how many righties are in our league. It's a significant force in the lineup. I mean, there’s no question about it.”
Getz credited David Keller, who is in Year 2 as the man in charge of international scouting, for his work in this deal. Keller, in turn, credited Satoshi Takahashi, the scout the organization hired to help establish a presence in the Pacific Rim. Murakami becomes the fourth player from Japan to play for the White Sox, joining Kosuke Fukudome (2012), and Tadahito Iguchi and Shingo Takatsu, who greatly contributed to the 2005 World Series title.
Takatsu also managed Murakami throughout his career in Japan.
“One of the things that Chris and I talked about is that good players come from everywhere, and you guys have heard me say that a number of times,” Keller said. “Obviously there's a whole pool of talented players in other parts of the world, and opening ourselves up to that meant establishing a process that allowed us to evaluate them properly, assign value to them and hopefully acquire them in time.
“So, really, right when I started with the White Sox is when we started to talk about that pool of players, including Mune. It was a journey to get to this point, obviously, but we feel like we've done our homework and due diligence, and here we are."
Monday’s press conference was the first of its kind for the White Sox at their Conference and Learning Center since signing free agent Andrew Benintendi and announcing his addition in January 2023. And Murakami immediately took charge of the show.
Upon being asked about visiting Chicago this past weekend and finalizing this deal with his physical, Murakami smiled and said, “It was extremely cold.” Wait until he sees baseball in April.
His closing comment from his opening statement -- in English -- was, “Let’s get to work.” There will be challenges for Murakami and more building for Getz within the White Sox. But both sides feel better and downright encouraged with this slugger in place.
“Obviously I’ve heard that this club has lost a lot of games in the past, but that is in the past. I only look forward,” Murakami said. “I’m excited with the exciting young players that this club has, and I’m ready to take on that challenge to grow with the group and ... hope to build something really special here.”
“When you’re reaching the end of the window, there’s an urgency to get the deal done, and it became a reality a couple of days ago,” Getz said. “And when it became a reality, I can assure you everyone in the White Sox organization was pretty excited.”