All-Star Game notes: Munetaka Murakami wants to be with White Sox for the long-term

PHILADELPHIA -- You only need to hear Munetaka Murakami sing the chorus to "Strokin'" but so many times, or see him gaze lovingly at Miguel Vargas during pregame workouts in Philadelphia to glean that he is satisfied with being with the White Sox.

But with a crush of national reporters in the American League clubhouse revisiting his once-surprising free agency decision, Murakami delivered an affirming status update.

"It's the best decision I've ever made," Murakami said via interpreter. "We're a winning squad, so we're just going to continue with that."

While Murakami gave a polite non-answer, saying he's not thinking nor talking about contract specifics when pressed for details, or asked if he'd take a "hometown discount" (who knows how easy that was to directly translate), he was quite clear about whether he wants to stay with the White Sox long-term, past the the length of his current two-year contract.

"Yes, very much," Murakami said via interpreter, though he didn't wait for a translation to answer.

Murakami is an All-Star and the White Sox are in first place. So while the team's front office initially viewed the signing as a calculated risk, and are open about the 2026 squad exceeding expectations, Murakami sees no reason to concede to the idea that he ever lacked faith.

Not in his teammates:

"It's not more than I expected," I've seen how they play since spring training. We have a young core group that is really willing to win, and I think we're showing that on the field."

And certainly not in himself, in response to those who questioned if he three true outcome style would translate:

"Truth to be told, I don't really care about the surrounding critics, I like to focus on myself and what I can control at the moment. People can say what they want to say. At the end of the day, I'm controlling what I can control and will keep focusing on what's next."

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The wildest week of Tristan Peters' life continues, since it was less than week ago that he hit for the cycle, before being named to the All-Star team. But before he got to take a picture with Kevin Durant during pregame batting practice, he spent most of Monday night at the hospital with his wife Erin, who was being treated for serious back pain.

"It's just been kind of an ongoing thing since we found out I got selected," Peters said, "We were rushing to get everything together, and she was all by herself trying to get dressed and stuff like that, carrying the baby around. It's just kind of built up, and then it was really bad last night. She got scanned, a CT scan, everything was fine. She'll probably try to get an MRI next few days, maybe in Toronto."

Peters said Erin was able to receive treatment for her pain, and was well enough to accompany him at the All-Star red carpet event, where he modeled his custom suit with a Savannah Banana logo on the inner lining.

The lack of sleep certainly hasn't dampened Peters' ambitions for Tuesday night's game.

"I mean, I'd love to hit a homer," Peters said of his gameplan. "In the All-Star Game? That would be incredible."

Truth be told, while Peters might seem like the person no one would have guessed to be an All-Star even three months ago, he's only blowing away his own expectations in a specific way.

"I've always expected myself to perform at a high level, and I'm going to continue to raise the bar," Peters said. "I never thought this was going to happen, especially this quick. I always thought it might be possible for me in the future, but to be here now in my rookie season, it's incredible."

Peters said pregame that he hadn't been told anything about when he'll enter the game, which is probably true for all of them.

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Since Miguel Vargas' old Dodgers teammates always expected him to be playing at this level, he's also finding it pretty easy to accept that he belongs. Asked if he's going to try to treat his at-bats like any other, Vargas quipped:

"I'm going to treat it like I'm an All-Star."

Vargas had his parents accompany him on his red carpet walk, which clearly was an emotional experience.

"Before we get there, my mom was asking me like, "Oh, how we should we walk today?' I was like, "Mom, it's the first time for me too!' It was a great time. Being with them means a lot for me. I know they have enjoyed it a lot, and for me to have the opportunity walk with them, it was amazing."

Vargas' father Lazaro has two gold medals from his days of playing for the Cuban national team, and now Miguel has a foundational career accomplishment of his own to match.

"He's very proud," Vargas said. "Every time he just want to tell me how proud he is for being here. He know all these superstars that he watches every single night, so it's been cool to see."

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