“Buy me some peanuts … and sushi pops?”
In an alternate world, one in which the writers of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” didn’t attend their first-ever baseball game until going to Rate Field this weekend, these may have been the lyrics we sang to serenade America’s pastime for generations.
Yes, in addition to the usual ballpark fare of peanuts and Cracker Jack — in addition to hot dogs, brats, Polish and Italian sausages, nachos, pizza, popcorn and whatever else you can get your hands on — sushi is now being served at Rate Field.
To honor Munetaka Murakami, their star Japanese rookie slugger, the Chicago White Sox have added a Muneshot Sushi Push-Pop to their food offerings. They come in two flavors — a shrimp tempura roll, which includes shrimp tempura, cucumber, a spicy seafood mix and teriyaki sauce, and a California crunch roll, which includes crabstick, avocado, cucumber, crispy onions, spicy mayo and teriyaki sauce.
According to the White Sox website, the sushi push-pops are sold in the 100-level right-field concourse, the 500-level left-field concourse and in Lucky’s Section 154. They’re priced at $23 each and include soy sauce in the push-up stick.
“With the Dodgers having Shohei Ohtani, they’ve really become Japan’s team,” White Sox Chief Revenue/Marketing Officer Brooks Boyer said, according to Sox Machine. “But as we appear more on international broadcasts because of Mune, our hope is that we become Japan’s American League team.”
So, has Murakami tried one of the sushi push-pops named after him and now available at Rate Field?
“I’m really happy to see that, but I haven’t eaten it yet,” he said, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. “I would like to taste it first.”
The White Sox also held a Murakami bobblehead giveaway on Sunday at Rate Field, honoring his first big-league homer back on Opening Day in Milwaukee.
Murakami more than rose to the occasion on his big day, belting two homers and driving in a career-high six runs as the White Sox avoided a weekend sweep with a 12-3 win over the Houston Astros, boosting their lead atop the AL Central to 2 1/2 games over the Cleveland Guardians.
The White Sox are more than happy to have Murakami back in the lineup. He returned on July 10 after missing 35 games due to a Grade 2 right hamstring strain. He had yet to homer and had only driven in one run since his return, but Sunday’s performance was an encouraging sign that Murakami is getting his timing back after the lengthy absence.
Signed to a two-year, $34 million by the White Sox this offseason to come over from Japan, Murakami has belted 22 homers and driven in 48 runs in just under 300 plate appearances so far this season. He has a robust .921 OPS and earned his first All-Star selection.
