White Sox star Munetaka Murakami lands chilling comparison to MLB outcast

Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami is off to a scintillating start to his MLB career, as he leads the majors with 14 home runs while also owning a .961 OPS through his first 35 games.

Watching Murakami’s dazzling power display has certainly been fun, but there have also been a whole lot of strikeouts mixed in, with the Japanese star having fanned 50 times through 154 plate appearances thus far. Of course, the homers have helped offset the punchouts, as have his 28 walks.

But here’s the real kicker: Murakami has just one double on the season, and he has only 30 base hits in total. Essentially, the 26-year-old is good for either a long ball, a strikeout or a walk, which reminded Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller of another player who is no longer even in the big leagues: Joey Gallo.

Chicago White Sox star Munetaka Murakami lands a comparison no fan wants to hear

How is Murakami like Gallo? Miller explained.

“In 2021, Joey Gallo either homered, walked or struck out in 362 of his 616 plate appearances. That is a ‘three true outcomes’ percentage of 58.8, and it is the highest such mark in any MLB season by a player who made at least 500 plate appearances. Well, White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami might surpass that mark, already with 13 home runs, 27 walks and 50 strikeouts in his 149 plate appearances (60.4 percent),” Miller wrote.

Miller wrote that piece prior to the White Sox’s win over the Los Angeles Angeles on Monday night, when Murakami went 3-for-4 with a homer and his first and only double of the season. He walked once and didn’t strike out, meaning Murakami has now homered, walked or struck out in 59.7 percent of his trips to the dish.

That’s obviously still a very large swath of plate appearances and surpasses Gallo’s percentage from 2021, making Murakami an incredibly unique hitter.

And as for Gallo? It wasn’t all bad for the two-time All-Star, who won a pair of Gold Gloves in the outfield and put together two 40-home run seasons. His lifetime slash line of .194/.319/.456, however, isn’t too aesthetically pleasing, and due to his horrific struggles at the plate between 2022 and 2024, Gallo is now attempting to become a pitcher.

Ironically enough, the 32-year-old was signed by Chicago in February 2025 but requested his release from the team a month later.

Hopefully, Murakami does not go that route.

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