Munetaka Murakami's Viral English Interviews: 4 Lessons for Learners

Why Murakami is trending

Murakami is a first baseman from Kumamoto, Japan. He's 26, and 2026 is his first season in Major League Baseball with the Chicago White Sox. On September 24 the team clinched a postseason spot with a 9-1 win over the Royals, and his postgame interview turned into one of the most shared clips of the week.

Six days later, on September 30, the White Sox beat the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the AL wild-card series. Yahoo Sports described it as the team's first playoff series win since 2005, and Murakami's clubhouse interview went viral again.

What he actually said

After the September 24 clinch, a Chicago Sports Network reporter asked what it meant to celebrate with his teammates. Reports say an interpreter relayed the questions in Japanese, but Murakami answered in English. He shouted "I am Japanese" while teammates poured beer over him, and he rated his first clubhouse celebration a 10, then upgraded it to 100.

Fans quickly linked the line to a famous interview by former Blue Jays infielder Munenori Kawasaki. Murakami later said it isn't his own quote: it's something the team says a lot in the clubhouse, and the atmosphere made him say it. So it wasn't a speech he planned.

On September 30 he did it again. According to Yahoo Sports, he joked his way through an English interview, corrected himself mid-sentence ("No, not yesterday, tomorrow") and ended with "Sorry, I don't speak English." Coverage of both moments was warm and celebratory, and so is this post. We don't know how or how long he has studied English, and nobody has reported it, so we won't guess.

Four lessons from how he speaks

Look at what he did, not at what he got wrong. There are four things any learner can borrow.

1. He answered in English anyway. An interpreter was there, and he could have waited for it. He chose to try in front of cameras. Waiting until you feel ready is the most common way learners stay stuck.
2. He used simple words with real energy. A number, a feeling and a short phrase got the message across. People understood him because he committed to what he said, not because the grammar was perfect.
3. He fixed himself out loud. "No, not yesterday, tomorrow" is a self-correction, and native speakers do it constantly. Stopping, correcting and continuing is a skill, not a failure.
4. He stayed relaxed about it. Saying he doesn't speak English while speaking English made people laugh with him, not at him. You can admit your limits and keep going.

Why this works, and where it doesn't

Here's the honest part. Murakami was celebrating with a crowd on his side, beer in the air and a translator nearby. That's about as low-pressure as speaking on camera gets.

Your situation might be a work meeting or an interview where the stakes feel higher. The attitude carries over (speak anyway, keep it simple, fix yourself out loud), but a one-word answer won't cut it for "Tell me about yourself." There you'll want full, clear sentences.

Straight up: being understood beats being correct. A clear sentence with a small mistake does its job. A perfect sentence you never say does nothing.

Phrases to steal for fixing yourself mid-sentence

Self-correction is easy to practise because you can use it in any conversation. Learn two or three of these and say them out loud until they come without thinking.

• •"Sorry, I mean..." for swapping a wrong word.
• •"Let me say that again." for restarting a sentence cleanly.
• •"What I meant was..." for explaining something that came out unclear.
• •"How do you say...?" for asking when a word is missing.
• •"Give me a second." for buying time to think.
• •"No, wait. I think it's..." for correcting a fact or a detail.

A 10-minute "say it anyway" drill

You can build this attitude without a camera crew. Try it once a day for a week.

1. Pick a recent moment: your best win this week, a bad commute, a good meal.
2. Describe it out loud in one short sentence. Don't plan it. Don't wait for the perfect word.
3. Add a second sentence with a feeling: "I was really happy", "It was a mess".
4. Make one mistake on purpose, or catch a real one, and use a fix phrase from the list above.
5. Say the whole answer once more, a little smoother. Then stop.

Who this approach is not for

If you're preparing for an exam like IELTS or TOEFL, this isn't a test-prep method, and exam answers need full structure. And if you can't form a basic sentence yet, build core vocabulary and simple present tense first. This works best once you know some English but freeze when someone is waiting for your answer.

For more confidence-building stories, read what Nene Royal's AGT win teaches non-native speakers and what learners can copy from Gilberto Mora. If you understand English but get stuck when you speak, see how to stop translating in your head.

Frequently asked questions

Does Munetaka Murakami speak English?

He answered postgame interviews in English after the White Sox clinched a playoff spot on September 24, 2026, and again after the September 30 win over the Astros. Reports say an interpreter was there to relay questions. How he learned English hasn't been reported.

Who is Munetaka Murakami?

He's a 26-year-old first baseman from Kumamoto, Japan, playing his first season in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox in 2026.

Was "I am Japanese" Murakami's own line?

No. Fans connected it to a famous interview by former Blue Jays infielder Munenori Kawasaki, and Murakami said it isn't his own quote. It's something the team says a lot in the clubhouse.

Is it okay to speak English with mistakes?

Yes. Being understood matters more than being perfect. Keep your sentences short, correct yourself when you notice a mistake and keep going. Practise often so the mistakes get fewer over time.

How can I practise speaking English without feeling nervous?

Practise out loud in a low-pressure setting first, like talking to an AI tutor on a topic you know well. Short daily sessions work better than one long one a week, because speaking is built through repetition.

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