Munetaka Murakami still found a way to stay locked in on Tuesday night, even with devastating news back home in Japan hanging over him.
The White Sox first baseman doubled in four at-bats during Chicago’s 3-2 loss to the Yankees before 33,743 fans at Rate Field, but his day was shaped by something far bigger than the box score: a major earthquake in his hometown of Kumamoto. Various reports put the magnitude between 6.8 and 7.1, and CNN reported that 13 people have been confirmed dead.
Murakami’s parents, Fumiyo and Kimiya, were in Chicago when they learned what had happened sometime after midnight. They had thrown out first pitches before Sunday’s 12-3 win over the Astros in honor of their son’s bobblehead giveaway, and they had been set to remain in town through Thursday’s homestand finale.
Instead, after hearing about the earthquake, they headed back to Japan on Tuesday. Murakami later addressed the situation through interpreter Kenzo Yagi after the White Sox dropped their fourth game in five tries on the homestand.
“I was really surprised and devastated by the news,” Murakami said through Yagi. “The last earthquake I experienced was 10 years back.
Obviously it’s really hard to swallow. It’s a natural disaster, so it’s nothing anyone can really expect at the moment, but I was deeply in shock.
“Moreover, from the [earthquake] 10 years back, it was just beginning to recover in full form, so it’s really unfortunate this actually happened again. It’s a very unfortunate event.”
Murakami’s concern goes beyond words. He helped in the recovery effort after the previous Kumamoto earthquake on April 16, 2016, when 278 people in his hometown and Ōita Prefecture died in disaster-related deaths, according to various reports. Now, he says he wants to do what he can again.
“It does really affect me. I’ll try to keep doing what I can,” Murakami said.
“It’s not like it flashes back or anything. It’s more the overall concern about the people and everybody who is affected by the disaster itself.”
On the field, Murakami has been a force for Chicago. He has 22 home runs, 48 RBIs, 54 runs scored and a .920 OPS this season, even after missing 35 games with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain. Off the field, he has quickly become a central figure for the White Sox, helping reshape the club from a rebuilding team into a playoff club in less than one full season.
The White Sox brought him in on a two-year, $34 million free-agent deal, and that move opened up the Pacific Rim for the franchise in a way that recalls earlier Japanese connections through Tadahito Iguchi, Shingo Takatsu and Kosuke Fukudome. Takatsu and especially Iguchi were part of the 2005 World Series championship team.
Murakami said the support from Japan has always fueled him, and he wants to send something back to Kumamoto through his play.
“I’ve always got a lot of cheers from everybody back in Japan, and that’s what gives me power to play baseball and get out there,” Murakami said. “As a professional baseball player, I would like to give back by playing hard and [giving] something to cheer on for the people back in Kumamoto. I’ll do whatever is necessary to get results.”
Chicago’s loss still left the White Sox in first place, though the margin is shrinking. At 55-51, they hold a 1 1/2-game lead over the Guardians after Cleveland split a doubleheader in Cincinnati. Minnesota is two games back at 54-54, and the Tigers are five back at 51-57.
The homestand has not gone the way the White Sox wanted against the Astros and Yankees, with two games left against New York. Still, the group believes the performance level is there, even if the results have lagged.
“We're upset about losing and the results,” said right fielder Braden Montgomery, who had two hits. “Then it's also, ‘All right, how are you going to learn from that?’ You've got to remove the emotion from it, look at the result, look at how it came about and learn about how you're going to use that going forward.
“These aren't the most important games that we'll play. While every game is important, there's more important stuff down the road."
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