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The story
In Game 1 of the American League Division Series, White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami started at cleanup and first base, and crushed a massive two-run homer with an estimated distance of 134 meters in the 4th inning. The exit velocity was reportedly the fastest of this postseason, and the blast silenced the crowd at Cleveland’s home ballpark. While 5ch’s live-commentary threads buzzed with excitement over the shot, the conversation spilled beyond the game itself, touching on MLB’s growing tolerance for flashy celebrations and frustration with Japan’s Climax Series “advantage” system.
◇AL Division Series Game 1: White Sox vs. Guardians (October 3, 2026, Cleveland)
White Sox infielder Munetaka Murakami (26) started at cleanup and first base on the 3rd (October 4 in Japan) in Game 1 of the Division Series on the road against the Guardians in Cleveland. He hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the 4th inning.
With the score tied 0-0 and a runner on first with none out in the 4th, Murakami crushed the first pitch he saw — a 93.4 mph (about 150.3 km/h) sinker from Guardians rookie left-hander Mesick that caught the middle of the plate up in the zone. He watched the ball land in the middle deck of the right-field stands, then took his time rounding the bases, letting out a roar toward the first-base dugout. The exit velocity was 112.2 mph (about 180.6 km/h), with an estimated distance of 440 feet (about 134 meters). According to the TV broadcast, it was the hardest-hit ball of this year’s postseason.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2106446208298364928/vid/avc1/1920×1080/Y91RnHinPeEjSCvY.mp4
murakami No1
Mune has us FIRED UP 🔥
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2106451368219209728/vid/avc1/1080×1080/5Fb2CnAKiPxXVMUC.mp4
So badass, lol
No wonder the dugout's going nuts
I wish he'd do that facing the other team's dugout instead
Shinjo (a former NPB/MLB outfielder) once got drilled with a retaliation pitch just for tossing his bat a little flashy after a homer.
And now guys can pull off a show like this on the road.
needs to drop this dumb 'advantage' system too.
Just make it fair.
Honestly we don't even need the Climax Series.
Single to center, 2-run homer to right, strikeout, strikeout
It's gotta be a fix to pump some life back into MLB as a whole.
People are getting bored of the Dodgers and Ohtani by now anyway.
If it were rigged, they wouldn't let a Japanese player shine like this.
A fix only works if the losing side is in on it —
you'd have to get the other team to throw it.
In a spot like today that'd mean feeding him easy pitches to hit.
But that high-velocity slider isn't something you can just hit even knowing it's coming.
If anything you'd have to get them to deliberately boot plays or make errors.
The last couple years everyone kept calling him a free rider anyway.
Did you already forget about last year's NLCS, grandpa?
Heading out now since the Dodgers game starts at 5.
They've got this in the bag, right?
…Right?
to an undefeated postseason run toward a world championship —
the biggest underdog upset in history is happening right now.
And at the center of it all was a god.
Murakami-kami.
Completely ignoring the Wild Card Series, geez.
Nobody cares about MLB results themselves —
just whether a Japanese player did well.
"Road crowd in an uproar" 🤣🤣 the trash media is so dumb 🤣🤣 (マスゴミ, a slang mashup of 'mass media' and 'trash')
In Matsui's rookie year his team made it to the World Series, and he got handed the cleanup spot from Game 5 on — but went 0-for-9 and lost.
If it's Mana Ashida, Fuka Koshiba, or Mio Imada, he'd actually have a shot.
I was shocked at how many clueless bandwagon fans there are on the sports/entertainment board.
They probably only know Murakami from the WBC.
Background and Discussion Points
In the past, flashy celebrations after a home run in MLB were often seen as an insult to the opposing team, and could lead to retaliatory beanballs. In recent years tolerance for such displays has grown, and the mood has shifted toward players feeling free to celebrate openly even on the road — which is why commenters in the thread drew comparisons to the Shinjo era. Meanwhile, the Climax Series that came up in discussion is a system unique to Japanese pro baseball that gives an advantage to the team that finished higher in the regular season, and debate over its fairness flares up almost every year. The home run itself is backed by hard numbers — exit velocity and estimated distance — but it’s worth noting that context like the opposing pitcher’s background or the opposing team’s form can’t be fully judged from thread comments alone.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou Sports Express+) thread “[MLB] Munetaka Murakami’s First Postseason Homer — Massive 134m Go-Ahead Two-Run Shot Silences Road Crowd”.
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