White Sox’s Munetaka Murakami faces interesting Home Run Derby question originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Chicago White Sox are sending a few representatives to the MLB All-Star Game this year, and Munetaka Murakami, the rookie Japanese slugger, is one of them.
But, he’s not just going to the All-Star Game; he’s also participating in the Home Run Derby. It’s a very cool honor for Murakami. But there is one big question for the White Sox slugger.
As ESPN’s Buster Olney highlighted, Murakami will need to decide where he will target during the derby. Not with where he’s going to look for pitches, but instead with where Murakami is planning to try and hit the ball during the derby.
Munetaka Murakami faces an interesting Home Run Derby question
“Murakami’s typical batting practice tends to include a lot of opposite-field home runs, but he will have to decide whether to stay with that strategy or aim for the inviting right-field porch in Philadelphia,” Olney writes.
This question for Murakami is a very interesting one. While it might seem simple for Murakami to target the shorter right-field porch in Philadelphia, he could also go with his typical routine and use the opposite field.
Citizens Bank Park favors left-handed sluggers like Murakami, as the right field fence is, as Olney put it, inviting for lefty hitters.
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The other left-handed hitters in Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Jac Caglianone, and Ben Rice will likely be targeting right field, while righties Junior Caminero, Jordan Walker, and Willson Contreras will target left field.
Murakami might be able to utilize both. However, it might make more sense for Murakami to solely focus on pulling the ball to the more favorable right field porch, avoiding his typical tendency during batting practice to use the full field.
Coming into the derby with 20 homers in just 211 at-bats, Murakami’s decision on where he chooses to target his home-run hitting will be interesting.
He could abandon his opposite-field tendencies, or he could stick to what he’s used to, and risk trying to go opposite field during the derby.
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