First and foremost, sorry for no sports posts over the last two months because I have been very busy with work and doing work for two summer baseball teams.
As we get some time to reflect upon the 2021 Major League Baseball first half of the season, one name comes to mind amongst the rest: Shohei Ohtani. Who is he and why is he in the news so much? Baseball has some good hitters and some good pitchers, but Shohei Ohtani can do both and be effective while doing both. Many have drawn the comparison of Ohtani's accolades this season to Babe Ruth, a pitcher and hitter in his day. But how comparable are the two actually in terms of hitting and pitching?
Let's start with The Babe. He was called up by the Boston Red Sox in 1914 and was an immediate impact in their rotation helping them win two World Series championships in his first five seasons. In 1918, Ruth started to hit more often than usual, leading the league in home runs with 11 and driving in 61 runs. The next season, he started 15 games for the Red Sox on the mound, going 9-5 with a 2.97 ERA and 12 complete games. At the plate, he broke the single-season record in home runs with 29 while also driving in 113 runs. The next season, he was traded to the Yankees, where he would only start 5 more games in the next 16 seasons of his career and hit 659 home runs with the Yankees.
Shohei Ohtani began as a two way player when he first entered the Japanese Pacific League. In 2016, Ohtani was 22 years old playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters as both a starting pitcher and as a hitter. On the mound, he pitched in 21 games with a 10-4 record, a 1.86 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 140 innings. He also registered four complete games and a shutout. That off-season, he was hitting in an exhibition game vs the Netherlands National Team and hit a baseball through the Tokyo Dome roof and gained immediate attention in the United States. In December of 2017, he signed a deal with the Los Angeles Angels.
In his rookie season with the Angels, Ohtani started 10 games with a 4-2 record, a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 51.2 innings. At the plate, he hit .285 with 22 home runs and 61 RBI's in 104 games played. Not bad for a two way player in their first MLB season. The next few years however were riddled with elbow injuries which limited his time pitching on the mound. In 2021, he showed up healthy and ready to make a difference and it has paid off in a big way. While pitching every 6th or 7th day, he is 4-1 with a 3.40 ERA in 13 games started with 87 strikeouts in just 60 innings of work. At the plate, he has been a beast, hitting a league-leading 33 home runs, 70 RBI's and 12 stolen bases along with a .279 batting average in 84 games.
Some highlights of Ohtani's 2021 campaign include a Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPN against the Chicago White Sox. In the first inning, he threw multiple 100 MPH fastballs and in the next half inning, he hit a 450 foot home run on the first pitch he saw. On June 18th, he announced that he would compete in the Home Run Derby at Coors Field. At the time, he had already hit 19 home runs. That night, he hit two more home runs finished the series with 23 home runs. Later in June, he made his first appearence in Yankee Stadium and in his first eight at bats, he hit three home runs. At the All-Star Festivities in Colorado, he lost to Juan Soto in the first round of the Home Run Derby. Each of them hit 22 and went into a swing-off and both hit six more until Soto defeated him 3-0 in the 3 swing swing-off. The next night, he was considered two players because he was a designated hitter and the starting pitcher. At the plate, he went 0-2 and threw a shutout inning while throwing 2 100 MPH pitches and got credit for the win.
What are my thoughts on Ohtani's season so far? As a fan of baseball since I was little, this is the most amazing individual performance I have ever seen out of any player. For the second half of the season, he is more than likely to make 20 starts on the mound this season as well as hit almost every day. Babe Ruth as a pitcher hit 29 home runs and started 15 games in a season. Shohei Ohtani has hit 33 home runs and started 13 games in a half season. What we are seeing is something that kids dream of doing and he is making this like a video game.
Now a question: Will this season be the greatest season by any Major League Baseball player? We will just have to see how it all plays out. In my opinion, for Ohtani to have this season be the greatest season ever, he would have to hit at least 50-60 home runs which is very possible as well as to get some more wins and keep the ERA consistent. He is already the favorite to win the American League MVP and for him to keep on what he has been doing is tough. An advantage that he does have though is he does not hit batting practice. As a baseball fan, I pray that he keeps it up so that their can be more fans of this sport and hopefully he can inspire the younger generation of players to hopefully one day step foot on a major league mound and at the plate.
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