White Sox are winning gamble on Murakami, as evidenced by buzz on All-Star stage

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Rahimi & Grote Show 16 min 5 speakers 6 chapters transcribed 2 months ago

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How did Munetaka Murakami dominate the All-Star media day stage?

Vinny Rotino 0:00

This is Rahimi Harrison-Grote on 104.3 The Score. And before the home run derby, we got to see all the players in Philly talk to the media. It was media day. Everybody's on this stage. And despite missing 35 games in baseball's first half, Munataka Murakami was absolutely owning this stage. The White Sox stars and the story that insiders have told you about, the story that you have felt, the story that people have absorbed this whole season finally got to take shape yesterday on the big stage in Philadelphia. And not only was P. Corr Armstrong representing for the Cubs, but you know who the Sox star is. Mooney, I feel like, had a very big coming out party yesterday, Marshall.

Marshall Harris 0:49

And really, it was appropriate that he kind of picked up where he left off. When you think about the 35 games that he missed, the Sox are obviously able to stay afloat without him, going 17 and 18 in those games, and then they win the first three games when he comes back, even though he doesn't homer in that series over the weekend. And he gets to Philadelphia, and I think the shining of an international star and the general curiosity about someone who does not speak English as his native tongue, who has to have a translator, but you see how his star power shines through any barriers that normally would be in effect. And I think it says a couple of things. It says that the White Sox really got over on the rest of Major League Baseball by signing this guy to the two-year deal that they signed him to.

Marshall Harris 1:36

Munetaka Murakami is on a mission to prove that he is an elite slugger, which so far he's done because he's got 20 bombs in 60 games. That's a pace of 54 home runs over the course of a full season. But more importantly, it's just the fact that his presence is... His gravity draws so much attention from the Pat McAfee show to the Home Run Derby and to really what could the second half be now that he's in the lineup with Kyle Till back, with Tristan Peters as an all-star in your 9-0. It's fully loaded, and he could be the fulcrum of that offense.

Vinny Rotino 2:10

He was the flashpoint for the White Sox success. The White Sox took a gamble. They paid for a free agent. And they paid on somebody that nobody else thought was worth as much at the time. The risk paid off. But I don't think any of us Saw the risk being able to pay off tenfold. Here Jim Callis is from Major League Baseball yesterday talking about how he thought the White Sox had the best draft of any team in baseball.

Why is Murakami's two-year White Sox deal being called a successful gamble?

Vinny Rotino 2:39

You see what has happened with Munataka Murakami's success on the national stage. Tristan Peters, the former Savannah Banana, is now an all-star after hitting for the cycle. And then additionally, Miguel Vargas, who is part of a trade that got a lot of scrutiny, including from me, when it came to sending Eric Fetty and Tommy Pham to the Cardinals, and then also Michael Kopech to the Dodgers, you get back Miguel Vargas. He is a man who has shown you that he is going to do the work himself and work with the team to improve as much To become an all-star. And those are three massive examples of how we are seeing a much different baseball landscape. We've had guys like Mark DeRosa tell us the White Sox are the best story in all of sports.

Vinny Rotino 3:20

We've had other people tell us that. Chris Rose, who is no slouch when it comes to baseball understanding, hosts a very respected longtime baseball shows and a Cleveland Guardians fan. But to see Monet go viral yesterday for his appearances on the Pat McAfee show, like you mentioned, or even the votes that he got despite missing 35 games, 741,065 votes. Second to Ben Rice and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. When you consider that. The popularity is building, and the respect for the White Sox nationally is coming with it right now. It's not just fun to watch. I think what we're seeing is an ascension of a program that I didn't think was going to come this quick, and to have the respect follow it, to be treated like they're not a flash in the pan, and have people know who Mune is internationally and nationally, that's something that I didn't expect.