WOODBURY – Long ball threat, but can’t reach the grass: the talented heavy hitters are struggling to find base hits.

This season, the Chicago White Sox signed with Japanese superstar Munetaka Murekami, who has had a great, but questionable start.

The southpaw has started the year with 33 hits, 15 of them being home runs, and the other 18 all accounting for one base.

“I think it’s shocking,” Butkus said. “A lot of people were doubting him coming in from Japan to the MLB, saying his strikeout rate would hurt him, and him not being able to catch up to high speeds. I do think it’s cool, 29 teams passed up on him, and now he’s leading a struggling team.”

This past summer, the White Sox signed Murakami to a two-year, $34 million contract. Being early in the season, this signing is looked at as a success for Southside.

Some wish their team had signed him, including diehard Yankee fan and NHS sophomore Jacob Ciarleglio.

“During the winter, I said we should have signed him,” Ciarleglio said. “He has proven to be a stud. He is a pure power hitter; he’s like a video game cheat code.”

The last time the Yankees had a similar player was just like Joey Gallo, known for his “three-true-outcomes” which would result in a home run, strikeout or a walk.

“Any Yankee fan hates Joey Gallo,” Ciarleglio said. “He was supposed to be a stud, but looked like a minor leaguer at times. He hit like .190 and barely scraped 35 homers.”

Murakami is also showing similarities to legends like Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco and Sammy Sosa.

As of early May Murakami is on pace for a legendary 69 home runs.

“After losing Alonso, we should have got him,” said NHS junior and Mets diehard Ryan Alther. “It sucks, we can barely score any runs and having a bat like Murakami in the lineup changes the entire season for the Mets.”

The real question is, can Murakami keep up this unbelievable pace?