Locker nameplate misspelled! Munetaka Murakami pokes fun at himself on social media over a “memorable” first impression

The slugger Munetaka Murakami, who transferred from the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in NPB to the Chicago White Sox in MLB through the posting system during the offseason, arrived in the U.S. on February 9 to start spring training. The team’s official social media also shared clips of his batting and third base drills, but attention was drawn to a post he reshared on social media highlighting a misspelling on his locker nameplate.

Murakami recently arrived in the U.S. to prepare for the upcoming World Baseball Classic and new season, conducting individual training at the White Sox spring camp. However, the first thing he noticed was the misspelled nameplate: White Sox staff had mistakenly spelled “Munetaka” as “Munetaki.” He took a photo and posted it on his own social media, adding “confused” and “tongue-out wink” emojis to mock the error.

White Sox fans responded to his post with comments lamenting the awkward first impression: “So embarrassing!” “What a unique way to make a first impression, a total social nightmare,” “This is why we always become the joke, please fix this ASAP.”

Murakami boasts an impressive career in NPB, having won the Central League batting triple crown and set the single-season home run record for domestic players with 56 homers. Yet his swing-and-miss rate, strikeout frequency, and defensive skills have often been questioned. Still, he has shown resilience and hopes to prove his critics wrong with his performance in the new season.

The data site FanGraphs projects Murakami will hit 30 home runs, drive in 80 runs, score 75 runs, maintain a .342 on-base percentage, and post an OPS of .792 this season, raising high expectations. Today, he officially began training at the White Sox’s Camelback Ranch spring facility, with the team’s official social media sharing videos of his batting and fielding drills to give fans an early look.