SAN DIEGO — Munetaka Murakami hit his major-league-leading 13th homer Friday night, a prodigious three-run, second-inning shot into the far reaches of right-center at Petco Park to break open early a ballgame the White Sox went on to win 8-2.
The Japanese slugger and superstar has already had a profound effect on the Sox’ lineup. But he’s also quietly asserted himself as a team leader.
On Thursday’s off day, when the team arrived in town, Murakami, the Sox’ first baseman, gathered a group of his teammates and hosted a lavish sushi dinner at an undisclosed downtown Japanese restaurant. It’s the kind of thing Shohei Ohtani has done with the Dodgers. Togetherness breeds success.
“It was Mune’s idea,” shortstop Colson Montgomery said. “He came up to me and said this is what we’re going to do. I’m like, OK.”
The group also included Sam Antonucci, Sean Burke, Mike Vasil, Chase Meidroth, Friday night’s starter and winner, Noah Schultz, and Kenzo Yagi, Murakami’s interpreter, Montgomery said.
“A little too much fish for me,” Montgomery added. “But it was good. I enjoyed it.”
Murakami also introduced a sushi shake Friday night in the dugout.
“We had a little sushi celebration going on,” Murakami said through Yagi. “I hope it helped us get some good results out there.”
Montgomery also homered with two out in the fifth, his ninth this season. It was the seventh time already the pair have homered in the same game, the most of any teammate duo in their club’s first 35 baseball games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Sox played their 33rd game of the season in their rematch against the Padres on Saturday night.
Having Mune is huge, Montgomery said.
“Last year, not having Mune or another guy who can put the ball in the seats, this makes a big difference,” Montgomery added. “His presence takes a lot of pressure off all of us. Now we’re going up there just to get a good pitch to hit and have a good at bat. You’ve got another guy in the lineup who can just hit the ball in the gap or can hit it out.”
The home run leader board looked like this heading into Saturday’s action: Murakami, 13, Aaron Judge and Yordan Alvarez, 12 each. Ben Rice and Kyle Schwarber, 11 each. Strangely, Ohtani with only six thus far, is nowhere to be found.
Two years ago, Ohtani became the first player to amass a 50-50 season with 54 homers and 59 stolen bases. But he hadn’t come back to pitch. This year Ohtani is pitching fulltime again and in five starts has a 0.60 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 30 innings. He’s hitting .261, 20 points below his lifetime batting average.
Murakami after the first month has a .967 OPS and 168 OPS+. Ohtani is at .861 and 143. But Mune said there’s no comparison. Ohtani is the unicorn, not Mune.
“Ohtani’s a very good player, obviously,” said Murakami, who played with Ohtani on Team Japan in the past two World Baseball Classics. “Don’t compare me with Ohtani at the moment. Having a great start in the Major Leagues and knowing how hard that is to keep going, I respect him very much. I’ll try to do my best always.”
Ohtani is already in his ninth big season. Murakami, 26, has just gotten going. But he’s showing so many signs that he belongs here.
Friday night, after conducting his media sessions with the English and Japanese media, Murakami peeled off to spend some time with a couple of kids. Former White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham was in the clubhouse with his two shaggy blond-haired boys: Jett, 5 and Bode, 3, already budding baseball fans.
They are also the nephews of Sox TV personality Brooke Fletcher. Talk about a baseball family: Gordon is married to Brooke’s sister, Brittany, and she herself is married to Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth.
Mune not only greeted the two kids, but slumped into a crouch to speak to them. And he’s not yet fluent in English. The kids were jazzed repeatedly slapping his palms.
That’s real leadership.
“I’m glad you got to see that,” Sox manager Will Venable said on Saturday. “That’s the stuff we get to see every day that’s overshadowed by his performance on the field. From Day 1, the teammate that he’s been, the way he engages with his teammates — the leadership in meetings, in the clubhouse. He’s a special guy.”