MESA, Ariz. -- Munetaka Murakami's first White Sox start, scheduled for Friday at Sloan Park, was almost delayed until Saturday’s Cactus League home opener against the Athletics.
The White Sox announced Murakami as a healthy scratch somewhere around 30 minutes before the initial pitch of their eventual 8-1 victory over the Cubs. Murakami was stuck in traffic but would still play once he arrived.
Moments later, Murakami was back in the starting lineup.
“Oh my god!” said Murakami in English, punching his hands together while indicating he was delayed by an unfortunate accident on the I-10.
“I was so concerned if I could make it on time,” he continued through interpreter Kenzo Yagi. “There was a big accident on the highway, and I was just concerned the whole time. I was actually in the car until 12:50 [15 minutes before first pitch].”
Once Murakami took the field, without being fully game-prepared, he quickly showed why the White Sox made a two-year, $34 million investment in the free agent first baseman from Japan. He grounded out to second against Jameson Taillon in his first at-bat, followed by a single to center with 108.3 mph exit velocity, per Statcast.
With the bases loaded in the fourth, Murakami connected on an 0-1 four-seamer from Porter Hodge for a 408-foot drive to center with 105.5 mph exit velocity. Seiya Suzuki, Murakami’s friend and soon-to-be teammate for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic, drifted back to the wall but then lost the drive in the sun for a two-run double.
Suzuki has a solid bond with Murakami, humorously weakened momentarily by the fly-ball adventure.
“After the pop-up, I hate him. So I’m not going to support him,” said Suzuki through interpreter Edwin Stanberry, before pausing and adding with a smile, “I’m just kidding.”
“You've got to give Mune a lot of credit,” White Sox manager Will Venable added. “This guy is so committed and such a professional. We've asked him to do some things that he hasn't necessarily been accustomed to, and how he prepares and his adaptability and flexibility to do those things has been awesome.”
Murakami will have the game off Saturday, going through live BPs, before returning to action on Sunday against the Brewers. His goal is to play in five Cactus League games prior to the WBC.
There was no working knowledge of the Cubs/White Sox intracity rivalry going into his Friday debut, although he endeared himself to White Sox fans. Murakami also thanked his teammates for helping him adjust in the early going.
“It’s absolutely everybody on the team, every staff [member], every teammate, coaches, every support member in the organization,” Murakami said. “Everybody makes me feel really comfortable at home, and this is why I can get a good preparation.”
“Everyone knows he’s a great hitter,” said White Sox right-hander Jonathan Cannon, who allowed one run over 1 2/3 innings with three strikeouts in Friday's start. “So, I think everyone’s just excited to see him continue to get better and see the pitching, get his timing down.”
Defense has been a focus for Murakami -- both at third base, where he’ll get a couple of innings this week, and at first. His first attempt at first came in the second with runners on first and second when BJ Murray hit a grounder to his right, which Murakami originally bobbled, but he then recovered and flipped to Cannon covering at first.
While he just missed a home run, Austin Hays and Sam Antonacci went deep off Taillon in the first and second innings, respectively. Antonacci, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the White Sox No. 11 prospect, punctuated his Statcast-projected 417-foot blast with a pronounced bat flip, noticed by his new teammate.
“I would love to copy that very soon. At the start, I’m going to try to tone it down a bit and get comfortable with it,” said Murakami, before adding in English, “Stay humble.”
"He's a little bigger than I thought, I guess. He's a little more physical,” Taillon said. “I only threw him three pitches. Fastball, changeup, changeup. I don't really have a scouting report on him or anything. It's always fun to follow guys like that that have a lot of hype. I hope he has success here. Obviously, recently, a lot of great players have come out of Japan. And he's got the juice, he's got the swing."
Murakami also got a taste of traffic in the United States, as did his manager.
“That was crazy,” Venable said. “Big accident and it took us another 45 minutes longer than we thought, but we all got here. Mune especially was stuck back there and did a great job, and for his first spring game to have that happen but be able to collect himself and come out here and have a good game, that was awesome.”