{"id":592120,"date":"2026-02-25T13:22:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/592120\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T13:22:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:22:17","slug":"bidets-might-help-chicago-white-sox-flush-away-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/592120\/","title":{"rendered":"Bidets might help Chicago White Sox flush away past"},"content":{"rendered":"

PEORIA, Ariz. \u2014 The team that bidets together stays together.<\/p>\n

Or at least that\u2019s the mantra of the Chicago White Sox after news that the team is introducing bidets in the clubhouse at the request of Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The jokes write themselves when it comes to the subject of eco-friendly hygiene, but the Sox are using the topic as a way to help Murakami acclimate himself as \u201cone of the boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, the western culture, it\u2019s just not as popular over here as in Japan,\u201d pitcher Davis Martin said. \u201cI think it\u2019s hilarious. It\u2019s fun and if anyone wants to try it, it\u2019s going to be good. We\u2019ve already had jokes with it and it has already brought us closer as a team. We had some material, but to talk to Mune about it a little bit, it\u2019s been fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are no bidets at the Sox\u2019s Camelback Ranch complex<\/a> in Glendale, so it\u2019s safe to say the Sox are waiting on bidet.<\/p>\n

Several players asked Tuesday about the bidet admitted they\u2019ve yet to experience one. A bidet is supposed to provide better hygiene and help the environment by reducing the reliance on toilet paper.<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoChicago White Sox catcher Edgar Quero, left, laughs with bullpen catcher Bennett Markinson during spring training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Pitcher Mike Vasil<\/a> and Martin were both interested in trying it out, while others were more wary.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t say I\u2019ve ever had one, so I don\u2019t know,\u201d left fielder Andrew Benintendi said. \u201cI\u2019ll have to get some feedback first. But it\u2019s something that\u2019s kind of a conversation starter and lightens the mood a little bit. Obviously, the more camp goes on and the longer we\u2019re around each other, the more comfortable we\u2019re going to get. It\u2019s definitely an interesting way to start conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

General manager Chris Getz said the decision to install bidets at Rate Field \u201cspeaks to (the notion) of trying to get Mune as comfortable as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getz noted that \u201cthere was no demand by any stretch\u201d from Murakami.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe mentioned it, and I said \u2018That seems like something that we can accommodate,’\u201d Getz said. \u201cI said something about it, and someone from (Japanese toilet manufacturer) Toto reached out to me in an email and said, \u2018We can help you out with this.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Vasil said he heard the Sox would have five bidets in the clubhouse, so there will be no waiting. Getz wasn\u2019t sure about the messy details and deferred to team executives Brooks Boyer and Terry Savarise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just push for the accommodations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoChicago White Sox nonroster invitee LaMonte Wade Jr., left, laughs with Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery during spring training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Murakami has been the focus of Sox camp, and fans watched him intently on the backfields Tuesday morning. Since he wasn\u2019t in the Sox lineup Tuesday for a 12-10 win over the Seattle Mariners at Peoria Stadium, the Japanese media contingent that flocked to watch him Monday at Salt River Field in Scottsdale was largely absent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a real buzz to it, no question, and that started when we announced the deal,\u201d Getz said. \u201cHe had a lot of success in Japan, and everyone is really curious about how this is going to translate. We are as well \u2026 Walking around, there are eyes on him. But he\u2019s comfortable with that, it seems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murakami has been having fun, learning how to do Ken \u201cHawk\u201d Harrelson impressions from Chicago Sports Network reporter Chuck Garfien, and goofing with his teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it\u2019s time to play baseball, he\u2019s very serious,\u201d manager Will Venable said. \u201cBut there is definitely a lighter side to Mune. He\u2019s got a big personality, funny dude and definitely likes to joke around with the guys. Time and place for everything but he\u2019s doing a great job being locked in on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe the Sox needed a big character like that in a laid-back clubhouse? It does help take some attention away from the rebuilding aspect of this camp.<\/p>\n

But Venable disputed the notion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that every one of those guys serves their purpose in the clubhouse dynamic and we have some other guys that are similarly \u2018personality guys,’\u201d he replied. \u201cI think our group is a special group that way. They have a bunch of different personalities, and most importantly, they all get along.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoChicago White Sox center fielder Everson Pereira, left, laughs with second baseman Lenyn Sosa as they wait to take live batting practice during spring training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

There is no jealousy over the media focus on one player, and players know that what helps the White Sox will ultimately help them in the long run.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to grow the brand of the Chicago White Sox,\u201d Martin said. \u201cRight now, where we\u2019re at as a team and where we\u2019re going, it\u2019s fun for not only Chicago-based fans but also fans that Mune brings across from Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benintendi, beginning his fourth year on the South Side, was the last big free agent signed by the Rick Hahn regime, when the Sox were coming off a poor 2022 season. Benintendi, Lenyn Sosa and Korey Lee<\/a> are the last position players left from that 101-loss team in \u201923 that started the three-year stretch of 100-plus losses, and Benintendi sees a light at the end of the long, dark tunnel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce they kind of started this rebuild thing, you can kind of predict how it\u2019s going to go initially,\u201d he said. \u201cYou hope to get out of that rebuild pretty quickly, and last year was a big step for a lot of guys. A lot of debuts, a lot of firsts for a lot of guys. They obviously still have to go through things and learn, but it feels more like we\u2019re prepared to win more games and are prepared to win more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getz said he liked hearing catcher Edgar Quero tell CHSN the Sox will make a push for the playoffs, but he isn\u2019t ready to get ahead of himself in the rebuild. He said to look at where the Sox were a year ago and where they are now, with players from Colson Montgomery to Kyle Teel stepping forward and the additions of Murakami and Serathony Dom\u00ednguez.<\/p>\n

Whether the Sox made enough moves to satisfy fans is debatable. They rank 28th in payroll, according to Spotrac. Getz said Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has been supportive of the plan, as slow as it has been. So will Reinsdorf be willing to add if the Sox shock the experts and need help at the trade deadline?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t doubt that,\u201d Getz said. \u201cLet\u2019s put ourselves in that position first.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PEORIA, Ariz. \u2014 The team that bidets together stays together. Or at least that\u2019s the mantra of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2379],"tags":[77347,5,77346,5250,138,49,2561,4071,5285,6251,6278,4,256,73,151,396,2562,998],"class_list":["post-592120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago-white-sox","tag-andrew-beintendi","tag-baseball","tag-bidet","tag-cactus-league","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-white-sox","tag-chicagowhitesox","tag-chris-getz","tag-davis-martin","tag-jerry-reinsdorf","tag-mike-vasil","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-baseball","tag-munetaka-murakami","tag-spring-training","tag-white-sox","tag-whitesox","tag-will-venable"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116131486966430163","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}