Shohei Ohtani - deserves his own thread

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Boris13c
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Shohei Ohtani makes history in latest dominant start for Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. — No pitcher in the American League's 118-year history — not Roger Clemens, not Whitey Ford, not Lefty Grove, not Walter Johnson — had achieved what the Angels' Shohei Ohtani did on Mother's Day.

The 23-year-old Japanese rookie became the first to accumulate at least 11 strikeouts in two of his first six career starts during the Angels' 2-1 win over the Twins. In addition, Ohtani's 43 strikeouts through his first six starts are the most ever by an Angels pitcher in that span.

Sunday was just the latest dominant performance from a player who has become one of the bigger stories in recent baseball history.

Ohtani finished with 11 strikeouts, one fewer than the career-high of 12 he established five weeks earlier against the Oakland Athletics. Between the second and the fourth innings, the right-hander struck out eight of the 10 Twins he faced — including five in succession.

In his first five innings, Ohtani neither permitted a runner to reach second base nor issued a walk. In his 6 1/3 innings, the rookie conceded just one run, two walks and three hits while throwing 103 pitches — the most he has thrown since coming to the United States — without getting the decision.
"Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things."
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Next Step Is For Angels' Starter Shohei Ohtani To Hit And Pitch In The Same Game
The next thing that’s coming is Shohei Ohtani hitting, during the same game he pitches. The way things are tracking now, the Angels are leaving one of their most potent offensive weapons out of the lineup when the Japanese right-hander starts.

There’s only one tactical reason for it: An American League team loses the designated hitter if the pitcher is in the batting order. A manager must handle substitutions for the pitcher the same way it’s done in the other league -- with pinch-hitters and flip-flops for position players in that game’s lineup.

"[Ohtani hitting in the same game he pitches] would happen against a National League team, if it comes to that,” said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who's well-aware the pitcher has to hit in interleague games on the road. “There’s a lot of risk on the strategy side of it in the AL. It could be done. Right now, our roster on the offensive side is not very deep.”

So, what? In Ohtani’s case right now, he’s pitching only once every seven days. That should be very manageable. The Angels are carrying 13 pitchers and 12 position players, much like most NL clubs.

But none of those other clubs have a swing man like Ohtani, who can do both.

In the 20 games he’s been the DH, Ohtani has a slash line of .348/.392/.652 with five homers, 16 RBIs and a 1.044 OPS. His 0PS+ is 181. The average is 100. Mike Trout, the Angels' best hitter, has a 1.071 OPS and a 186 OPS+
"Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things."
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Boris13c
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Japanese star Shohei Ohtani is wasting little time, living up to the hype

if you haven't yet seen an Angels game with him in it,you're missing out ... living up to the hype indeed
"Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things."
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The Los Angeles Dodgers star is the only player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season. He hit three home runs and stole two bases in the same game against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19 to achieve baseball history.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/414 ... -auctioned

guess I'm the only one who has been following this guy? he has been a unicorn from the start and now just keeps achieving goals others might have dreamed of at one point, but he is actually doing it ... live and in person ... and he is very much fun to watch

and after a year as Dodgers DH, he should be back on the mound collecting strikeouts again next season to go along with his HR bombs
"Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things."
George Carlin
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