After three straight 100-loss seasons \u2014 including a record 121 defeats in 2024 \u2014 the Chicago White Sox needed a little excitement.<\/p>\n
Munetaka Murakami has certainly provided that.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old infielder from Japan is tied with Aaron Judge for the major league lead with 13 home runs. That accounts for nearly half of Murakami\u2019s hits so far this season. He has 14 singles and no doubles or triples.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This type of all-or-nothing production would be quite rare if it continues for an entire season. So far, 48.1% of Murakami\u2019s hits have been homers. The single-season record \u2014 among players who qualified for the batting title \u2014 is 46.8% by Barry Bonds. He did it during his famous 2001 season, when he slugged a record 73 home runs and had 156 hits.<\/p>\n
Next in line are two of Mark McGwire\u2019s best years. He had 70 homers on 152 hits (46.1%) in 1998, and 65 homers on 145 hits (44.8%) in 1999. Only nine players have homered on at least 40% of their hits, but not all of them needed stratospheric home run totals to do it. Joey Gallo hit 41 home runs on 94 hits (43.6%) in 2017, finishing with a .209 average. That might be a more reasonable comp for Murakami, who is batting .223.<\/p>\n
Following Murakami\u2019s lead, the White Sox rank 28th in the major leagues in batting average and ninth in home runs. Colson Montgomery is hitting .227 with nine homers. It was an encouraging week for Chicago, which had a chance to reach .500 on Sunday but lost to San Diego \u2014 the end of a five-game winning streak.<\/p>\n
Murakami signed a two-year, $34 million contract in the offseason to come over from Japan and join the White Sox. Montgomery, meanwhile, is 24 and under team control for a while. On the pitching side, left-hander Noah Schultz has made his debut this season and is 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA.<\/p>\n
And the White Sox also have the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft.<\/p>\n
Trivia time<\/p>\n
Who holds the single-season record for the White Sox in percentage of hits for a home run?<\/p>\n
ABS impact<\/p>\n
So far there doesn\u2019t seem to be a huge correlation between success with the automated ball-strike system and winning. The teams with the most successful ABS challenges are the Twins (52), Rockies (50), Marlins (46), Athletics (45) and Royals (44). Only the A\u2019s are above .500 from that group.<\/p>\n
On a percentage basis, the teams with the best success rate have been the Diamondbacks (64.3%), Padres (62.3%), Royals (62%), Tigers (60.7%) and Reds (59.6%). San Diego, Detroit and Cincinnati have winning records.<\/p>\n
![\"Baseball:](\"https:\/\/english-kyodo.ismcdn.jp\/mwimgs\/7\/f\/414m\/img_7f7eceabd4484773233c711a6a46996f1220468.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Performance of the week<\/p>\n
Ranger Suarez struck out 10 in eight one-hit innings for the Boston Red Sox in a 5-0 win over Toronto on Monday night. That was a third straight victory for the struggling Red Sox, but they\u2019ve dropped four of five since. Suarez left Sunday\u2019s start after four innings because of hamstring issues.<\/p>\n
Comeback of the week<\/p>\n
The Atlanta Braves scored seven runs in the last three innings to beat Colorado 8-6 on Friday night. The Braves were down 6-1 in the seventh. They scored a run that inning and then four more in the eighth, with Mauricio Dub\u00f3n\u2019s bases-loaded triple the highlight. Michael Harris II\u2019s two-run homer in the top of the ninth put Atlanta ahead.<\/p>\n
The Rockies\u2019 win probability peaked at 97.7% according to Baseball Savant.<\/p>\n
After sweeping three straight at Colorado, the Braves have an 8 1\/2-game lead in the NL East. Atlanta also has the best run differential in baseball at plus-81.<\/p>\n
Trivia answer<\/p>\n
![\"Munetaka](\"https:\/\/img.mlbstatic.com\/mlb-images\/image\/upload\/t_2x1\/t_w1536\/mlb\/i6qkhfbabexovwazhiel.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Adam Dunn hit 41 homers on 110 hits (37.3%) in 2012, finishing with a .204 average. That also was the year he set the American League record by striking out 222 times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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