It is not very usual for Google to add easter eggs to baseball players until they are legends. But for our $34 million White Sox star, it has come early. Munetaka Murakami shouted “a hundred” in the White Sox clubhouse after making the postseason for the first time since 2021, and Google noticed.
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“Google has added a reference to Munetaka Murakami’s iconic locker room celebration when you search his name,” TSN reported.
Google has added a reference to Murakami’s celebration in search results – a rare honor for a rookie. The White Sox star’s viral celebration has now become part of the search results.
When fans search Murakami’s name, Google displays his “One Hundred!” moment from the clubhouse interview. That moment happened after the White Sox clinched a postseason berth with a 9-1 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Murakami was asked to rate his first MLB clubhouse celebration out of 10.
He could have simply chosen 10, but instead shouted, “One hundred! Not 10, 100!”
The answer quickly became the biggest part of a celebration filled with champagne and beer. Murakami then gave White Sox fans another moment when asked what celebrating with teammates meant.
As beer poured over him, he suddenly shouted, “I AM JAPANESE!”
That line was not random, because Murakami was paying tribute to former Blue Jays favorite Munenori Kawasaki.
Kawasaki delivered the same famous line after his walk-off double against the Baltimore Orioles on May 26, 2013. His energetic interviews had already made him a cult favorite among Toronto fans.
Murakami’s reference connected 2 Japanese players through celebrations separated by more than 13 years. It also showed how naturally Murakami was bringing his own personality into the White Sox clubhouse.
After the White Sox swept the Astros 2-0 in the Wild Card Series, Murakami’s celebration continued. Murakami struggled during that series, recording just one hit and five strikeouts across two games. That did little to stop him from enjoying the celebration.
He admitted that he was a tad bit drunk and joked about dealing with a hangover later. And that celebration was not so bad when we look at how the White Sox suffered over the past 3 years and made their first postseason appearance since 2021.
Then Murakami brought that personality into the ALDS when the White Sox faced Cleveland in Game 1.
He launched a 440-foot, 2-run homer off All-Star Parker Messick in the fourth inning. The blast was his first postseason homer and his 36th home run of the season. Afterwards, Murakami explained what he felt, turning toward his teammates after the swing.
“I can’t explain what I said in words,” he said, “but it was a little bit dirty.”
From “100” to “I AM JAPANESE!” to “a little bit dirty,” Murakami keeps giving fans something different after every game. For a 26-year-old rookie, his first season with the White Sox has already produced plenty of unforgettable moments.
Other MLB players to have gotten the same surprise from Google
Murakami’s Google surprise is unusual, but the White Sox star is not the first baseball player honored.
Google has previously created special doodles celebrating players whose stories reached far beyond baseball.
Toni Stone received an animated doodle in 2022 showing her playing second base, honoring the first woman in professional baseball. That surprise arrived during Black History Month, making Stone’s story the center of Google’s homepage.
Stone played alongside legendary players and eventually joined the Indianapolis Clowns as their second baseman. The celebration came decades after Stone retired, giving fans another way to remember her story.
Jackie Robinson received a different Google surprise when the search giant marked his 94th birthday.
His doodle appeared on January 31, 2013, celebrating the player who changed baseball forever.
Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1947 season. Unlike Murakami, his Google moment celebrated a birthday and a legacy already firmly established.
Another Japanese baseball star, Sachio Kinugasa, received similar recognition when Google gave him a tribute on his 76th birthday in 2023; he passed away at 71 in 2018.
Google created a doodle highlighting Kinugasa’s career and his remarkable consecutive-games record.
He played 2,215 straight games, holding baseball’s consecutive-games record for 9 more years, breaking Lou Gehrig’s world record, before Cal Ripken Jr. broke it.
What stands out with Murakami is that his Google surprise came during his first season with the White Sox. We can’t wait for more such iconic Mune-ism.