Ahoy!

The White Sox open Cactus League play this afternoon with a game against the Cubs in Mesa. The first CHSN broadcast won't be until Saturday, when the White Sox return to Camelback Ranch to play the A's, but today's tilt will be available on Marquee Sports Network, and MLB.TV for those outside the Chicagoland area. As always, we've put together a spring training broadcast schedule capturing all White Sox TV, radio and online broadcasts, as well as all announced opponent feeds for easy reference over the next several weeks.

Jonathan Cannon will be starting today's game, and Munetaka Murakami will make one of his White Sox debuts by batting cleanup. He intends to play in five games before departing Camelback Ranch to play for Japan in the World Baseball Classic. James talked to Murakami one-on-one (or two-on-one, factoring in his translator), and as you'll see in our featured story below, you're looking at a guy who is ready to prove doubters wrong.

In other news, on Wednesday we participated in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) on the White Sox subreddit. Peruse the post for all the questions and answers, as well as a promo code for an extra month free on all annual subscriptions. If you don't yet subscribe, it's one of our best offers. If you do subscribe, feel free to tell a friend. Either way, thanks for reading, listening and supporting our White Sox coverage.

By JAMES FEGAN

PHOENIX -- In 2022, at the tender age of just 22, Munetaka Murakami painted his masterpiece.

He hit 56 home runs, slashed .318/.458/.710 in a season where the league average OPS was only .678. At one point in the season he homered in five straight plate appearances, "Murakami-sama" was voted Japan's word of the year, and he carried the Yakult Swallows to the best record in NPB and an appearance in the Japan Series, where they lost in six games.

When it was complete, he knew that he wanted the challenge of coming to the United States and playing Major League Baseball.

"I came here for the challenge of being in the major leagues, and not just the challenge, but to really be successful here," Murakami said via interpreter.

The posting system through which NPB players are able to come to the majors offers its own timeline, but indeed Murakami moves through Camelback Ranch like someone who has been plotting this transition for years. The World Baseball Classic is coming up and repeating as champions is massively important to Murakami and Team Japan, but it's nevertheless striking that the slugger oft-criticized for swing-and-miss issues is making some of the loudest and most consistent contact on the backfields.

"Hitting with Mune on the backfield, he's electric," said Kyle Teel. "He's the real deal. Like, he's hitting balls really, really hard."

"The speed of everything is a lot faster in the major leagues," Murakami said via interpreter. "This is what I expected, but also I feel that every day."

His pronunciation of simple English phrases like "nice to meet you," "thank you," "let's go!" is precise. He can deadpan answers with deft comedic timing. He surprised reporters from Telemundo by rattling off Spanish slang at a recent presser, and when he took a moment to praise Chase Meidroth for learning the Japanese word mōhitotsu (one more), as when he praises all White Sox personnel for engaging with him, he's likely underselling his own role in initiating the good relations.

Here are more stories from Sox Machine exclusive to subscribers

By slow-rolling his spring training, the Mets have a plan for keeping Luis Robert Jr. healthy, unless they're merely delaying the inevitable. Plus: a winter's worth of Old Friend Updates, all in one place.

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