The Chicago White Sox will be a lot less fun over the next several weeks.
Chicago manager Will Venable said to reporters on Saturday that breakout rookie slugger Munetaka Murakami has suffered a grade 2 hamstring strain. Murakami is now expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks of action as a result.
The 26-year-old Murakami was injured during Friday’s win over the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Ill. While legging out an infield single, Murakami came up hobbled and grabbed his right hamstring area.
Here is the video.
Munetaka Murakami left the game grabbing his hamstring pic.twitter.com/29sWk7LV35
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 30, 2026
The lefty-hitting Murakami, a former batting Triple Crown winner in his native Japan, had been off to a magical start to his first season in Major League Baseball. Through 57 games, Murakami had produced 20 home runs (an AL high), 43 RBIs, and 40 runs scored (also an AL high) while quickly becoming one of the most exciting shows in the big leagues with some of his absurd feats.
Meanwhile, the White Sox, who have not had a winning season since 2021, have posted a very respectable 30-27 record up to this point of the 2026 campaign. But now they will have to survive until likely at least July without their hard-hitting infield phenom Murakami.
