Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
It’s Shohei’s world, we’re just living in it
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but that Shohei Ohtani guy is pretty good at this baseball thing.
The Los Angeles Angels all world pitcher/DH is one of, if not the best player in baseball, and he’s hit a completely different level this season. Through Friday, Ohtani is tied for the MLB lead in home runs, while also tying for third in strikeouts…as a pitcher.
In the Angels four game stint against the Rangers, Ohtani was on one. Ohtani hit four home runs in the series, and in his last start as a pitcher, struck out three Rangers and gave up 2 earned runs.
Oh yeah, on that same night, he did this:
450 foot opposite field homer, to solidify the lead the Angels had in a game where he also pitched. That is absolutely preposterous, and that’s not even the most insane opposite field home run he hit in this series. Try this one on for size, a near 460-foot oppo taco that left the baseball world in awe.
The exit velocity on that ball was only a mere 116.1 MPH, which is the hardest hit opposite field homer by a lefty batter…ever.
Every ball hit in the Statcast era by a left-handed MLB hitter at 116+ MPH before tonight vs. the one Shohei Ohtani hit tonight…
We weren’t sure a hit like this was even possible before tonight. pic.twitter.com/6wGfXHHMnD
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) June 15, 2023
We weren’t sure how possible it was, but Ohtani has found a way to get even better than last season, where he was doing things that haven’t been seen cine the early 1900s. For example, Shohei’s batting stats compared to MLB batters facing him is hilarious:
There’s also this:
this again:
last year, Shohei Ohtani became the 1st player to finish top-15 in MLB in both HR hit AND pitching K’s in a season since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893
HE’S CURRENTLY TOP-3 in MLB IN EACH IN 2023!!!!!
T-1st in HR, 3rd in K’s https://t.co/kySZmnhQdT
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) June 16, 2023
What an unbelievable baseball player.
