With 44 arches, he virtually became the home run king in the American League (AL) early on. But he’s still up in the air when it comes to the big leagues as a whole. Shohei Otani (29, LA Angels) is frustrated that opportunities rarely come.
Ohtani started as designated hitter twice in the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) away game against the Oakland Athletics held at the Coliseum in Oakland, California on the 4th (Korean time), going 0-hit in 3 at-bats, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, and 1 stolen base. recorded.
His season performance dropped from 0.306 to 0.304 (151 hits in 497 at-bats), and his on-base percentage and slugging percentage fell from 0.413 and 0.658 to 0.412 and 0.654.
Considering the value of Otani’s name, this score may be disappointing, but for a proper evaluation, we need to look a little closer.
There are no balls to hit… Pitchers who avoid, ‘on-base percentage of 0.479’ that can never be criticized
Ohtani’s home run clock, who hit 44 home runs, stopped against the Cincinnati Reds on the 24th of last month. Since then, he has not been able to add a home run in 10 games.
In the American League (AL), the gap with 2nd place Louis Robert (Chicago White Sox, 35) is large, so there is nothing to worry about, but in the entire big league, he is unable to escape from Matt Olson (Atlanta Braves), who is tied for 1st place.
Of course, it is almost certain that Ohtani will win the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, as he ranks first in the AL in home runs, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Although he stopped due to injury, as a pitcher he had already recorded 10 wins, 5 losses, an earned run average (ERA) of 3.14, and 167 strikeouts. As a dual sword that has been upgraded even more than in 2021, Ohtani has changed the history of MLB one by one.
However, he cannot ignore the symbolism of being the overall home run king in the big league. This may have greater meaning as he is continuing the season as a hitter with strong will, refusing surgery.
The problem is that the pitchers do not compete. Just looking at this day, the pitchers’ passive competitiveness was evident. He got a walk against Oakland starter Mueller with one out in the first inning, and according to Game Day on MLB’s official website, MLB.com, the second ball that Ohtani cleared for a foul was also a ball that was outside the strike zone.
In the third inning, Ohtani retired with a fly ball to first base. However, even in this case, it can be seen that Muller’s decoy ball, which had a favorable count, was far outside the zone. He got his second walk against pitcher Adrian Martinez, who was replaced in the 5th inning. This time, he walked out after only 5 pitches, and the 2nd changeup that Ohtani swung at was also a ball that fell below the zone.
Ohtani seemed to have become impatient in the 7th inning after the team that was ahead had allowed the score to be tied 4-4. At this time, there was only one ball that penetrated the zone, but Ohtani hit aggressively with the bat in the manned ball and picked up three fouls, but struck out after missing a slider on the fifth pitch. Ohtani, who was at bat for the fifth time with one out in the 9th inning, which allowed the team to go back to 6-10, was forced into a 1-2 unfavorable count and struck out on a four-pitch slider that went out of the zone.
It is not easy to criticize the batting lineup’s poor performance. Although there were no home runs, Ohtani’s batting average in the last 10 games was not bad at 0.287 (10 hits in 35 at-bats), and his on-base percentage reached a whopping 0.479. This number shows how much opposing pitchers avoided Ohtani.
If you can’t hit, you play. Another name engraved in big league history… ‘Batter Ohtani’ alone is legendary enough.
Frustrated, Otani moved with his feet. Ohtani, who drew a walk in the fifth inning, stole second base during Randal Grichick’s at-bat. It was a base-running play that took off the timing so perfectly that the opponent’s battery gave up on throwing.스포츠토토
This was his 20th stolen base of the season, making Ohtani the second player to join the 20 home run-20 stolen base club since 2021. According to MLB.com, Ohtani became the eighth player to achieve two or more seasons of 40 home runs and 20 stolen bases. This is the first time in history for an Angels player. 40-20 itself is a record that has only been recorded 34 times in big league history.
He achieved 20-20 before Kim Ha-seong (San Diego, 17 home runs, 31 stolen bases), who is likely to score 20-20 this season.
Ohtani, who ended his season as a pitcher early due to a rupture of the medial collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow against Cincinnati on the 24th of last month, is contributing to the team as a hitter. However, amid Otani’s silence, the team continues to struggle.
Even Oakland, the lowest ranked team in the AL with 95 losses (42 wins), suffered a 3-game losing streak by allowing a come-from-behind win. They kept Ohtani by refusing to trade him, but the future of the Angels is becoming increasingly dark due to his silence.