From bidets to baseball magic: How Munetaka Murakami and his teammates revived the Chicago White Sox

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It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that the Chicago White Sox used to stink.

After three disastrous years in which they’d lost at least 100 games every season, the South Siders had to freshen things up; but they couldn’t have imagined that some new toilet seats would be a part of the solution.

Enter Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, who arrived in December on a $34 million contract, requesting that a few TOTO Washlet bidet seats be installed in the clubhouse. Since then, the Sox have really cleaned up their act, and are now on the verge of an American League Championship Series berth in the MLB playoffs with Mune leading both the charge and the celebrations.

“I’m drunk!” he declared from the locker room after the Sox had clinched a wild card series win over the Houston Astros. Speaking without the aid of his trusted translator Kenzo Yagi, who was also celebrating with a beer next to him, Mune then bellowed a line that immediately went viral. “Yesterday, maybe hungover.

“No, not yesterday, tomorrow. Sorry,” he laughed. “I don’t speak English!”

At 6-feet-2-inches tall, Murakami is larger than life. He was nicknamed Murakami-sama in Japan because his feats at the plate were so God-like . He frequently launches home runs well over 400 feet, with an average exit velocity of almost 94 miles per hour that puts him near to the game’s elite.

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He emphatically announced his arrival in the Windy City with homers in his first three games – only the fourth player ever to start their MLB career so emphatically and the first to do so for the White Sox. Already an Olympic and World Baseball Classic champion with Japan, now the 26-year-old was showing the big leagues his raw power. He’d smashed 14 homers by the time he knocked his first double, an unusual record for a player starting their career in MLB.

For now, his baseball was doing the talking, but those covering the team knew that he had much more to say. Brooke Fletcher, the team’s on-field reporter for Chicago Sports Network, describes Murakami as “sneaky funny.”

“We always knew Mune had this sense of humor,” she told CNN Sports . “In spring training, you kind of get a feel for guys, but he didn’t show it much this season.”

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Fletcher says that Murakami was “locked in” for his rookie campaign. But every now and then, his quirky personality would peek through; there was the white sock that he pulled from his jacket at his introductory press conference, and the occasional one-liners that, due to their scarcity and because they were often delivered with almost comedic conviction, have become iconic.

His bobblehead figure, distributed in July on a night featuring another two Murakami home runs, featured one of those lines: “I have power.” If you Google his name, another catchphrase – ONE HUNDRED – appears on the screen next to a champagne bottle emoji.

When the White Sox clinched their first playoff berth since 2021 with a blowout of the Kansas City Royals, Fletcher was holding the microphone in an exuberant locker room. Asked to rate the celebration on a scale of one to 10, Murakami said, “100! No, 10. No, 100!” How many champagne bottles had he opened? “Hundred!” And finally, when asked to describe how it felt to celebrate with the team, he put his hand on the mic, looked into the camera, flashed a broad grin and screamed to a chorus of cheers from his teammates, “I am Japaneeeeese!”

“When I did that interview with him and saw him like let loose like that, I was like, ‘Yes, like let’s go, finally!’” explained Fletcher. “Seeing the attention it got on social media, I was glad that people were seeing him for who he is. He’s a great guy in the clubhouse.”

NBC Sports and Prime Video reporter Britney Eurton, who captured the “Yesterday, hungover” line thinks the reason that so many people are warming to Murakami is because his personality is so surprising.

“Culturally, when you think about the Japanese, you might think they’re a little more reserved,” she told CNN Sports. “Shohei Ohtani is much more reserved and quiet, and I think Murakami is just more unexpected and that makes the energy through the roof. He’s a big dude, obviously, a big dude with a very big personality.”

Chicago’s success this season is far more than it could have expected when the Sox were eliminated from playoff contention last year on September 6.

In 2023, they had lost 101 games, and things completely fell apart in 2024, when they were the worst team in all the majors with 121 losses, a modern-era record. Then only one team had a worse record than their 102 defeats in 2025. No team had ever made the playoffs after back-to-back 100-loss seasons, so to make it after three in a row was unthinkable, especially after one of their versatile pitchers was sidelined in spring training.

Mike Vasil had been expected to carry a heavy load from the mound in 2026, but a torn ulnar collateral ligament in March changed everything. His season was over before it had begun, and yet he has still ended up playing a crucial role. It is unusual for injured players to travel, but Vasil’s teammates lobbied for him to remain in the dugout, and his involvement has helped the White Sox capture something magical.

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Back in April, reliever Jordan Leasure bought a $20 toy wand for Vasil to mess around with, and it has transformed the team’s fortunes.

“It was in the locker room,” he told Chicago Sports Network, “and I decided to start ‘casting spells.’ The wand comes into play while we’re hitting because we want runs, there has been a couple of times when we’ve been pitching.”

The month after the wand arrived, Chicago became one of the hottest teams in baseball. Murakami loved it.

“Mune will sometimes ask for his own specific spell,” Vasil explained, with complete sincerity. “You could potentially catch it somewhere, but he loves his own specific kind of spell with the wand.”

For example, after Murakami had homered against the Sox’s cross-town rival Cubs in May, the broadcast replayed a role-playing scene from the dugout moments beforehand, with Murakami intently following Vasil’s wand with his eyes and his body shuddering as he received “the spell.”

Vasil now wears an embroidered wizard’s hat that was gifted by the fans and when team manager Will Venable told him the commissioner’s office had concerns about his wand, he appeared crestfallen.

“What do I do now,” he said. “I don’t have an identity.”

Venable, though, was joking. Everybody loved the wand, he said, and the White Sox subsequently handed out 20,000 replicas to their fans.

Having now won their first playoff series since their World Series run in 2005 – and with a Papal blessing from Chicago’s own Pope Leo XIV adding some extra wind to their sails – the White Sox might be unstoppable.

A 4-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Monday put them on the verge of the ALCS, holding a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five divisional series. It’s one of the most shocking turnaround stories in sports in recent memory – and they aren’t done yet.

Their joy is infectious and other fans around the league are taking notice. They dance in the dugout before games, third baseman Miguel Vargas barks to celebrate homers and infielder Sam Antonacci dressed as Spider-Man to go to the movies.

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Whether it’s magic or chemistry or just good vibes, this team is having a blast.

“These guys, they’re just playing a kids game,” Fletcher told CNN Sports. “They’re just having a great time.”

Eurton concurs: “They feel like a group that just loves being together and playing together. I feel like they’re just a group of little kids out there playing their absolute favorite sport. Make no mistake, they know what’s at stake here, but they’re having fun doing it.”

Nobody who’s seen them could deny that. And thanks to those new bidets and a cheeky bit of magic, it’s good clean fun to boot.

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毫不夸张地说，芝加哥白袜队过去战绩糟糕透顶。

在经历了三个赛季的惨痛失败（每个赛季至少输掉 100 场比赛）之后，南区球队不得不做出改变；但他们万万没想到，一些新的马桶座圈竟然会成为解决方案的一部分。

日本强棒村上宗孝于去年12月加盟红袜队，签下了一份价值3400万美元的合同。他当时提出要在更衣室里安装几个TOTO Washlet智能马桶盖。自那以后，红袜队的战绩有了显著提升，如今他们距离晋级美国职棒大联盟季后赛美联冠军系列赛仅一步之遥，而村上宗孝不仅是球队的进攻核心，也是球队庆祝胜利的领军人物。

“我喝醉了！”在红袜队战胜休斯顿太空人队赢得外卡系列赛后，穆内从更衣室里大声宣布。当时他身边还有一位值得信赖的翻译八木健三，八木健三也正和他一起喝啤酒庆祝。穆内没有翻译，而是大声喊出了一句迅速走红网络的话：“昨天，也许是宿醉吧。”

“不，不是昨天，是明天。抱歉，”他笑着说。“我不会说英语！”

身高6英尺2英寸（约1.88米）的村上春树身材魁梧，气势惊人。在日本，他被尊称为“村上大人”，因为他在打击区的表现堪称神一般。他经常击出超过400英尺（约122米）的本垒打，平均击球初速接近94英里/小时（约159公里/小时），这使他跻身棒球精英之列。

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他以三场比赛全部击出本垒打的惊艳表现宣告自己来到风城芝加哥——他是MLB历史上第四位以如此强势的方式开启职业生涯的球员，也是芝加哥白袜队史上的第一位。这位26岁的球员此前已代表日本队获得奥运会和世界棒球经典赛的冠军，如今他正向大联盟展现自己惊人的力量。在他击出第一支二垒安打之前，他已经轰出了14支本垒打，这对于一位MLB新秀来说，无疑是一个罕见的纪录。

目前，他的棒球技艺似乎胜过千言万语，但报道这支球队的人都知道，他还有很多话要说。芝加哥体育网的球队现场记者布鲁克·弗莱彻形容村上“幽默风趣，却又暗藏玄机”。

“我们一直都知道穆恩很有幽默感，”她告诉CNN体育频道。“在春训期间，你大概能感受到球员们的这种性格，但他本赛季并没有过多地展现出来。”

酿酒人队凭借球场屋顶的巨大帮助，在国联分区系列赛首战中以 3-2 击败教士队。

弗莱彻说，村上春树在新秀赛季“全神贯注”。但偶尔，他古怪的个性也会流露出来；比如在就职新闻发布会上，他从外套里掏出一只白袜子；还有他偶尔冒出的几句妙语，由于不多见，而且往往带着近乎喜剧般的感染力，这些妙语都成了经典。

他的摇头娃娃于7月发行，当晚村上春树又击出两支本垒打。娃娃上印着他的一句台词：“我拥有力量。” 如果你在谷歌上搜索他的名字，屏幕上会出现另一个口号——“一百”——旁边还有一个香槟酒瓶的表情符号。

当芝加哥​​白袜队以一场酣畅淋漓的大胜击败堪萨斯城皇家队，自2021年以来首次锁定季后赛席位时，弗莱彻正拿着麦克风站在欢腾的更衣室里。当被问及如何评价这场庆祝活动时（满分10分），村上直截了当地说：“100！不，10！不，100！” 他开了多少瓶香槟？“一百瓶！” 最后，当被问及与球队一起庆祝的感受时，他把手放在麦克风上，看向镜头，咧嘴一笑，对着队友们的欢呼声大喊：“我是日本人！”

“我采访他的时候，看到他那么放松自在，我就想，‘好啊，终于可以敞开心扉了！’”弗莱彻解释说。“看到这段采访在社交媒体上引起的关注，我很高兴大家看到了他真实的一面。他在更衣室里是个很棒的人。”

NBC 体育和 Prime Video 记者 Britney Eurton 捕捉到了“昨天，宿醉”这句歌词，她认为很多人喜欢村上春树的原因是他的个性非常出人意料。

“从文化角度来说，提到日本人，你可能会觉得他们比较内敛，”她告诉CNN体育频道。“大谷翔平就比较内敛安静，而村上春树则更加出人意料，这让他的能量爆棚。他身材高大，个性也非常鲜明。”

芝加哥红袜队本赛季的成功远远超出了人们的预期，要知道，去年9月6日，红袜队就已经无缘季后赛了。

2023年，他们输掉了101场比赛；到了2024年，情况彻底崩盘，以121场败绩成为大联盟战绩最差的球队，创下了现代棒球史上的纪录。2025年，只有一支球队的战绩比他们更差，输了102场。此前从未有球队在连续两个赛季输掉100场后还能打进季后赛，所以连续三个赛季输掉100场后还能晋级季后赛简直是天方夜谭，尤其是在他们队中一位全能投手在春训期间受伤的情况下。

迈克·瓦西尔原本被寄予厚望，将在2026赛季承担球队投手丘上的重任，但三月份的一次尺侧副韧带撕裂彻底改变了一切。他的赛季还没开始就结束了，然而他最终仍然发挥了至关重要的作用。受伤的球员通常不会随队出征，但瓦西尔的队友们极力劝说他留在休息区，而他的参与也帮助白袜队创造了奇迹。

图片插图：Ian Berry/CNN/Getty Images/Adobe Stock

这种伤病在过去一个世纪的大部分时间里都困扰着美国职业棒球大联盟（MLB），但如今一种新的现象正在出现。

今年四月，救援投手乔丹·莱瑟花了 20 美元买了一根玩具魔杖给瓦西尔玩，结果改变了球队的命运。

“当时我在更衣室里，”他告诉芝加哥体育网，“我决定开始‘施魔法’。魔杖在我们击球时会派上用场，因为我们想要得分，也有几次在我们投球时用过。”

魔杖到手后的一个月，芝加哥队就成了棒球界最炙手可热的球队之一。村上春树对此非常满意。

“穆恩有时会要求施放他自己专属的咒语，”瓦西尔无比真诚地解释道，“你或许能从某个地方听出来，但他特别喜欢用魔杖施放他自己独有的那种咒语。”

例如，在五月份村上击出本垒打后，对阵白袜队的同城对手小熊队，转播重播了几分钟前在休息区发生的角色扮演场景，村上目不转睛地盯着瓦西尔的魔杖，身体颤抖着接受了“魔法”。

瓦西尔现在戴着一顶绣着图案的巫师帽，这是球迷们赠送的。当球队经理威尔·维纳布尔告诉他联盟办公室对他的魔杖有所顾虑时，他显得非常沮丧。

“我现在该怎么办？”他问道，“我没有身份认同了。”

不过，维纳布尔是在开玩笑。他说，大家都喜欢那根魔杖，白袜队随后向球迷们赠送了2万根复制品。

自 2005 年赢得世界大赛冠军以来，白袜队首次赢得季后赛系列赛——再加上芝加哥本土教皇利奥十四世的祝福，更是如虎添翼——他们或许势不可挡。

周一，他们以4比3战胜克利夫兰卫士队，距离美联冠军赛仅一步之遥，在五局三胜制的分区系列赛中以2比0领先。这是近年来体育界最令人震惊的逆转故事之一——而他们的征程远未结束。

他们的喜悦极具感染力，联盟其他球迷也注意到了这一点。赛前，他们会在球员休息区跳舞；三垒手米格尔·巴尔加斯会用吠叫来庆祝本垒打；内野手萨姆·安东纳奇甚至会装扮成蜘蛛侠去看电影。

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无论是默契配合、化学反应，还是良好的氛围，这支队伍都玩得很开心。

“这些家伙只是在玩小孩子过的游戏，”弗莱彻告诉CNN体育频道。“他们玩得很开心。”

尤顿对此表示赞同：“他们就像一群热爱在一起、热爱一起比赛的孩子们。我觉得他们就像一群在场上玩自己最爱运动的小孩子。毫无疑问，他们知道这场比赛的重要性，但他们乐在其中。”

凡是见过的人都无法否认这一点。而且，多亏了这些新型坐浴盆和一些巧妙的魔法，清洁起来也乐趣无穷。