The Chicago White Sox may have taken a 12-8 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Friday, but it didn’t come without a little history.
Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami cracked his 15th home run of the season, tying New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge for the MLB lead.
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The hit also made Murakami the first player in MLB history to hit a home run in the first game of eight consecutive series’.
“In the first meeting, there were a lot of critical questions about me hitting the fastball and getting the velocity up,” Murakami said through a translator after the game, per MLB.com. “Now the results are coming to be, and I think the questions are coming differently at the moment. I want to ask you guys how I’m doing.”
It’s only his first year in the Majors, but Murakami looks like a seasoned veteran.
He’s been in a thrilling race with Judge for baseball’s most home runs, and its been an extremely close one. For weeks, they’ve taken turns tying or taking the lead against each other in homers.
Judge established himself as one of the league’s top hitters years ago and he’s kept up that reputation this season.
He may have gotten off to a slow start, but his elite hitting as of late has more than made up for it. In addition to being one of the top home-run hitters, Judge is also tied for the AL lead with 29 RBIs.
Not only can he become the first player in MLB history with five career 50 home-run seasons, he’s also on pace to surpass his own AL record of 62 homers in a single season.
To put it simply, both Judge and Murakami are having historic years at the plate, but it’s nearly impossible to predict who will have more home runs by the time the dust settles.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
