Ozzie Guillen is not holding back on Munetaka Murakami. The former White Sox manager wants the current staff to fix the slugger’s approach immediately. Murakami’s rookie year has not gone as planned, and the numbers prove it. According to bolavip.com, the Japanese infielder has hit just .147 in August. That is a huge drop from his season start. Guillen knows this slump needs a hard reset before it gets worse.
The Swing Problem Is Real
Guillen spoke up on 104.3 The Score Chicago about the issue. He said Murakami is “not seeing the ball well” and is just “freelancing” at the plate. The stats back up this tough take. Murakami struck out 46 times in August. He had 102 total at-bats during that same month. That means he got punched out 45.1% of the time. His OPS also fell from .985 to .848 after those bad games. He is trying to hit home runs too much and failing.
The advice from the 2005 World Series champ is simple. Murakami was instructed by the coaching staff, via a message from him, to avoid attempting home runs and instead focus on hitting the ball to the middle of the field. This shift in mindset is the only way to get his swing back on track. Murakami has been batting second in the order, so his struggles hurt the whole lineup. The team cannot afford to watch him chase bad pitches all season.
Fix The Approach Or Lose The Fan
Guillen has seen this movie before. He led the Pale Hose to their last title in 2005. He knows how to win in Chicago. He even joked about how much he wanted to yell “Go White Sox” in the streets. He cares about this team and its fans. But he also knows that a slump like this kills momentum. “And hopefully the swing will go back to normal,” Guillen said on the radio. That hope is not enough without action.
The White Sox need to listen to their former leader. The numbers show a clear pattern of failure that only changes with a new plan. Murakami is a star in Japan, but he must adapt to MLB now. According to 104.3 The Score Chicago, the message is clear: stop swinging for the fences.
