From our other sites
The story
Munetaka Murakami, who was hitting home runs at a torrid pace after his move to the majors, has seen his production collapse since August — batting just .131 over 153 at-bats with a 41.8% strikeout rate. One local reporter delivered a scathing verdict, saying the team should bench him for “literally anyone else.” On the 5ch thread (Geinosupo Sokuho+), commenters weighed in with a range of theories: some noted he had similar slumps back in his Yakult days, others speculated that — like Shohei Ohtani — he’d been banned from using the AI pitch-prediction tool in the dugout, while others pushed back, arguing his 31 home runs and .804 OPS deserve more credit.
“Bench Munetaka Murakami” — American Fans Blast Vanishing Power Bat: “Anyone but Him”
.131 average over 153 at-bats since August, 41.8% strikeout rate
[MLB] Guardians 7-6 White Sox (Cleveland, September 16 JST)
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Just like Ohtani
He fell apart once they banned the AI prediction tool in the dugout
Couldn't be more obvious
How American 🇺🇸 of him lol
When a reporter asked if there'd been any change in his weight-training numbers, he shot back immediately, "I don't track numbers."
He explained: "If I started doing that, I'd lose my balance. I'm a feel player, so if I relied on numbers, I'd lose what makes me who I am."
He's seriously creeping toward the .100s lol
If you think of it as 1-for-5 every game, it's not that bad
Jingu Stadium really does suit Mune best after all
31 home runs and his OPS is still a lousy .804
Goes to show OPS really is a solid stat
An OPS of .800 still makes you a good hitter
and it's over lol
Good thing he didn't get a big multi-year deal
Yeah, I think that's true
But Murakami the player is finished
He'll get traded anyway
There's a lockout coming
With the salary cap, big multi-year deals aren't happening anymore
They're an embarrassment
Ohtani's just on a different level — he's leading all the highly-paid players in WAR this season
AI has nothing to do with it
Masataka Yoshida was the same — pitchers adjusted to him in the second half of his rookie year and he went cold too
It's a common pattern
If it's a recurring thing, that's just his actual level
The moment you're doing well they hype you up like you're the GOAT, but the second you slump they trash you
Even non-Americans would rip on this
At that rate he'll be cut by next summer
Ohtani really is something else
Americans don't last long either
Take Raleigh, last year's HR champ — he's been running numbers like Murakami's recent stretch basically since Opening Day
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
In his first year after moving overseas, Munetaka Murakami has hit 31 home runs, but has fallen into an extreme slump since August. His strikeout rate topping 40% appears to reflect opposing pitchers adjusting to him, and commenters on the thread pointed out a pattern common to past Japanese hitters like Masataka Yoshida — a “second-half rookie-year collapse.” On the other hand, an .804 OPS is far from a bad number, and by home run count alone he still ranks near the top of his team, so judging him solely by batting average or strikeout rate may be one-sided. It’s worth noting that the theory attributing his slump to restrictions on AI-assisted pitch-prediction tools is pure speculation from the thread, not something officially stated by the team or MLB.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinosupo Sokuho+) thread “[MLB] “Bench Murakami” — American Fans Blast Vanishing Power Bat: “Anyone but Him” — .131 Average Over 153 At-Bats, 41.8% Strikeout Rate Since August.”
Leave a Reply