Munetaka Murakami’s arrival to the big leagues has been one of the biggest stories of the 2026 season. The Japanese slugger, who seemingly fell into the White Sox lap amid concerns about his contact rate, hit 20 home runs in 57 games before a hamstring strain landed him on the sidelines. Murakami’s power surge took the league by storm and had White Sox fans screaming for an extension less than two months into his big league career. For a while, there seemed to be no doubt he’d be playing in the All-Star game in Philadelphia this July, but his injury and the final results of the first round of fan voting have put a damper on those hopes.
The final voting results for the first round were revealed Thursday night, and Munetaka Murakami finished third among AL first basemen. Yankees standout slugger Ben Rice, hitting .281 with 22 home runs on the season, finished second. The first-place finisher, by a wide margin, was Blue Jays first baseman Vlad Guerrero Jr, who’s hitting just .273 with four home runs this year. Despite uninspiring numbers, Guerrero finished with 2.4 million votes, nearly double the amount of Rice, who finished with 1.28 million. Guerrero and Rice will now begin a final round of voting, and a starter will be named at the conclusion of that round.
The AL Phase 1 All Star voting results pic.twitter.com/DA4DNZLIn0
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 26, 2026
Munetaka Murakami's odds with Guerrero starting are miniscule
Guerrero’s strong showing really puts Murakami in a bad spot. The AL All-Star roster will likely only have two or three first basemen, and having to put a completely undeserving player like Guerrero on it takes a spot away from someone who should be in the conversation, like Murakami or A’s slugger Nick Kurtz. If Guerrero wins, Ben Rice will also likely make it, leaving one spot (at most) for Murakami and Kurtz. However, Guerrero is highly unlikely to make it if Rice wins, potentially giving Murakami and Kurtz the other spots. That makes the next steps clear: If White Sox fans want Munetaka Murakami to be recognized for his incredible rookie season, they need to vote for Ben Rice this week.
In my opinion, the fan voting system is silly, and it makes the achievement of being named an All-Star carry a big asterisk. Similar to the NFL, where Shedeur Sanders will now always be known as a Pro Bowl quarterback simply because nobody else in the AFC wanted to play in it, being named an All-Star starter in baseball just doesn’t mean much anymore. Despite a 39-42 record, the Blue Jays have a chance to have eight out of the nine starting position players for the American League simply because of their run to the World Series last year. That seems backwards to me.
The White Sox have several players who deserve to be playing in the All-Star game this summer. Murakami, Colson Montgomery, Miguel Vargas, Davis Martin, Grant Taylor, and even Chase Meidroth could make an argument for why they deserve to be there. The reality is, a few of them are likely going to be snubbed, especially if they have to reserve spots for the entire Blue Jays roster.
With just a week or so left of the voting, time is running out, but White Sox fans can still make a different. Get out there and vote against any Blue Jays players on the ballot beginning on Monday. The less spots taken up by undeserving Blue Jays, the more opportunity for the White Sox to get the recognition they deserve!
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