2026 WNBA GM survey: League execs prefer Paige Bueckers over Caitlin Clark as franchise cornerstone
WNBA GMs prefer Paige Bueckers over Caitlin Clark as franchise cornerstone ahead of 2026 season.
The Chicago White Sox are emerging as a serious contender in the AL Central, bolstered by Munetaka Murakami's impressive performance, including 14 home runs in the first 45 games of the season.
May 4, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) in the dugout after defeating the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
The Chicago White Sox, despite signing Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, didn’t enter the 2026 MLB season with the most lofty of expectations. The Sox were looking to establish a culture and let young players develop in a season that would serve as a building block for the future.
Through the first 45 games of the season, however, the White Sox are looking dangerous. Murakami has delivered since arriving in the Windy City, crushing 14 homers thus far, including another in Monday night’s win over the Los Angeles Angels on the West Coast.
“It was going to come sooner or later,” said Murakami of his first big league double, which also came on Monday night, through interpreter Kenzo Yagi. “So I’m really happy about the result.”
It’s not just Murakami giving opposing pitchers headaches, either.
“If you see that the whole lineup now, it’s so deep,” third baseman Miguel Vargas said, who hit his seventh home run on Monday “Any guy can give you a really good at-bat, a single, an extra base hit, a stolen base. That’s our identity right now. The hustle on the bases too has been unbelievable.”
Chicago is now 7-3 over its last 10 games, and just 0.5 GB of first place in the always tightly contested AL Central.
Most shocking of all during this stretch of success, however, might be the success the pitching rotation is seeing. The Sox have gotten arguably the best starting pitching in the MLB since early April.
“You can look at the dugout and figure that out,” said starting pitcher , who notched his fifth win of the season on Monday. “We’re not hiding that we’re having the best time. This is a group that in Spring Training we knew we could do something cool and feel like we were building toward something.
Munetaka Murakami has hit 14 home runs so far this season.
Murakami's strong performance is contributing significantly to the White Sox's emergence as a legitimate threat in the AL Central.
The White Sox aimed to establish a culture and develop young players, but their strong start has raised expectations for the season.
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“Obviously we stumbled out of the gate, but I think we found our stride and found who we are as a team and the personality of our team. We just have a bunch of guys that want to play for each other, guys that are playing hard and wanting to win baseball games.”
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