Munetaka Murakami’s impending return is trending in the right direction. His team is still treating his return to be a late-June to early-July date. Murakami resumed baseball activities on June 17, including running, throwing and hitting off a tee, a meaningful step after he landed on the 10-day injured list on May 30.
On May 29, Murakami ran to first base, trying to beat out a double play and immediately felt discomfort and began slightly limping. Two weeks into rehab, he described the pain as reduced and said his progress was improving day by day, while Will Venable, his manager, is taking precautions on rushing progress.
Murakami’s absence the past two weeks has temporarily halted some excitement on the possibility he could have hit 60+ homers. He silenced critics by becoming the fastest rookie to hit 20 homers before June, becoming one of the most dangerous power bats in the lineup before the Grade 2 hamstring injury. It is important to take it slow rather than rush progress because hamstring injuries can linger if a player returns before sprinting, lateral movement and recovery between workouts are fully tested.
Munetaka Murakami is someone Southside Chicago baseball truly needed. Just his signing in the offseason was noteworthy as he was the talk of baseball even before he took a swing in a regular season game. It was around that time critics started to pour in and underestimated his ability to hit major league pitching.
He quickly proved those critics wrong, making his power impossible to ignore, as if to say, “I have power!”
As of before the game on June 18, the White Sox compiled an 8–6 record in his absence, proving the team’s resilience as it grinds through the long season. They have yet to have Kyle Teel (catcher) back in the lineup, a key player who will make this White Sox team even better when he returns.
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