Chicago (United States) (AFP) – Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami, a Japanese slugger among Major League Baseball’s top hitters, will be sidelined about four to six weeks, manager Will Venable said on Saturday. The 26-year-old infielder, who spent the past eight seasons with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, was placed on 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring.
“It hurts,” Murakami said through a translator. “It’s really disappointing at this point of the season to be injured, but there are a lot of ways to contribute to the team, like cheering on and other stuff. I’ll keep doing that so that we can keep grinding as a team.”
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Murakami was injured in the third inning of Chicago’s 4-3 triumph over Detroit on Friday. He reached second on a fielder’s choice ground ball to second but grabbed his right hamstring as he walked to the base and was removed from the game.
The White Sox, 31-27, stood second in the American League Central division, 2.5 games behind Cleveland, and left-handed hitter Murakami has been a major reason why Chicago is a contender. Murakami, who signed a two-year MLB deal worth $34 million with the White Sox, shared the AL home run lead with Houston’s Yordan Alvarez at 20, led the AL with 43 runs scored, and was second in the AL with 41 runs batted in.
“It’s tough. Obviously, he makes a massive impact on our group, on and off the field,” Venable said. “He’s someone that puts so much energy into his work and to other people. He’s probably pretty down right now, knowing that’s going to take a different form here over the next few weeks.”
The White Sox have not had a winning season or reached the playoffs since 2021, have made the post-season only three times in the past 20 years, and have not won a playoff series since capturing the 2005 World Series title by sweeping Houston. After starting this year 6-13, the White Sox have a 25-14 mark.
“I never really thought about us being a losing team,” Murakami said. “It’s always having that winning culture and going into games with that kind of mindset. We’re here to win.”
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