Munetaka Murakami Recreates Iconic 1992 Frank Thomas Card

The hard-hitting rookie Munetaka Murakami is set to get his first true rookie card in the upcoming Topps Series 2 baseball release, and he's channeling another Chicago White Sox baseball basher, Frank Thomas.

Topps released the first images on their social media accounts showing Murakami posing like Frank Thomas from his 1992 Topps card. It wasn't mentioned in the post, but this really looks like this will end up being a Golden Mirror Super Short Print (SSP) for the rookie from Japan. Generally, base cards show the player in some sort of playing action, and not a casual pose, like the one from the image Topps released.

1992 Topps Frank Thomas and His Iconic Pose

Frank Thomas, also known as The Big Hurt, was drafted by the White Sox and spent the first 15 years of his career on the southside of Chicago. He would finish his career with stints in Oakland and Toronto and hit 521 career home runs as a professional.

His 1992 Topps card looks like a Golden Mirror SSP, or image variation, would look today. It's a ball player in a pose that's not an action shot on the field. He's sitting next to the net of a batting cage with a pile of baseballs tangled up next to him. This card is especially meaningful to his career because it's the first card after his first big year. While he was called up in 1990, he played 60 games and hit just seven home runs. But in 1991 (when the photo was taken), he slammed 32 home runs and had 109 runs batted in (RBI). He also had a career best 138 base on balls (BB).

The base card alone is a very cheap card, with some listed on eBay as low as 99 cents. And even its gold counterpart is not that expensive. Collectors can find it for around $10 or less. But when you can get a PSA GEM MT 10, you're looking at a few hundred dollars. According to Card Ladder, the last sale of a PSA GEM MT 10 version was $375, sold as best offer on January 31, 2022.

Who is Munetaka Murakmai?

Murakami is a 26-year-old power-hitting first baseman (like Frank Thomas), who signed a 2-year deal with the White Sox for $34 million before the start of the 2026 season. He certainly made a statement in his Major League debut on March 26 when he hit a home run for his first career MLB hit.

The hit was a no-doubter off of reliever Jake Woodford. Through his first 40 MLB games, Murakami has hit 15 home runs and driven in 29 runs. According to multiple betting outlets, he and Kevin McGonigle are neck-and-neck with each other for rookie of the year.

Murakami Rookies Could Bring a Premium

It's almost a certainty that Munetaka Murakami's rookie card will see an explosion in price when they first hit the market when the Series 2 product drops. He has already had one big sale from a product that hadn't even been released yet. His base paper rookie card from the upcoming 2026 Bowman product recently sold at auction for over $150.

It's not unheard of for people to get product early, as Topps ships out ahead of their release date; some get to doorsteps faster than others. Apparently, the seller got their hands on it, got it out on eBay right away, and finished with a total of $158.50 after 20 bids.

You can assume that this amount is the exception, and not the rule, for what his cards will sell for. However, given that it is a Bowman rookie and not a Topps rookie, that could indicate a higher premium. A majority of the card-collecting community seeks rookie cards from the Topps and Topps Chrome brands over Bowman, which is prospect-heavy with some veteran players thrown in the mix.

Pre-sale for Topps Series 2 opened Monday, May 12. The set is scheduled to be released in about six weeks on June 24, 2026.

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