Major League Baseball (MLB) superstar Shohei Ohtani (30, LA Dodgers), who had no choice but to take a “holiday” as a pitcher, is generously showing his value as a batter.
Ohtani, who played only as a batter and did his best, was on the verge of achieving 50 home runs and 50 steals, which were not played by Jeon In-sung.
Ohtani, who showed “both pitching and hitting” with the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japanese professional baseball league, continued his “tide flow” even after entering the MLB in 2018. MLB was enthusiastic about Ohtani, who showed outstanding performance both as a batter and as a pitcher.
From 2018 to last year when he played for the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani played in 843 games as a hitter with a batting average of 0.274 171 homers and 437 RBIs and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.922.
As a pitcher, he pitched in 86 games, recording 38 wins and 19 losses with an ERA of 3.01. While pitching 481 ⅔ innings, he struck out 608.
Ohtani, who is a double-handed pitcher, won the American League Rookie of the Year in 2018 and won the American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2021 and 2023.
In 2021, he recorded a batting average of 0.257 with 46 home runs and 100 RBIs with an OPS of 0.965, and 9 wins and 2 losses with a 3.18 ERA as a pitcher. In 2023, he posted even better records in both pitching and hitting. He posted a batting average of 0.290 with 46 home runs and 101 RBIs with an OPS of 0.986 as a batter and 10-5 losses with a 3.14 ERA as a pitcher.
Ohtani, who also showed off his unprecedented pitching and hitting double at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), has become an icon of baseball worldwide.
Ohtani, who became a free agent (FA) after the 2023 season, signed an astronomical contract with the Dodgers with a 10-year contract period of $700 million (about 939.4 billion won).
However, Ohtani could not play as a pitcher this year. He underwent Tommy John Surgery meant to link tendons in his elbow in September last year. Undergoing this surgery, he usually needs one year of rehabilitation.
Attention was focused on what Ohtani would look like when he put down the pitcher and played only as a batter.
This year is not the first time that he has played as a batter. It was also in his time with the Angels.
Ohtani, who also underwent Tommy John surgery in October 2018, continued his elbow rehabilitation in 2019 and played only as a designated hitter. At that time, he had a batting average of 0.286 with 18 home runs, 62 RBIs and an OPS of 0.848 in 106 games.
However, at that time, he ended the season in mid-September while undergoing knee surgery.
Ohtani, who has risen to the top of MLB this year, showed a different appearance than five years ago.
Mizuhara Itpay, an interpreter who has been with him since he entered MLB, was accused of illegal gambling and theft, but he quickly shook it off.
Ohtani, who once topped the home run list in the American League with 44 homers in 2023, continued to hit home runs fiercely from the beginning of the season. He displayed the power of hitting 12 home runs in 26 games during June.
In addition, he showed off his fast feet and stole bases one after another.
Ohtani’s main strength was not bad enough to hit 26 steals in 2021 and 20 steals in 2023, but he did not play actively for fear of injury when he played as a pitcher.
However, Ohtani, who does not play as a pitcher, showed more active baserunning and increased stolen bases.
Ohtani hit 40 homers and 40 steals for this season in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 24. He was the sixth player to hit 40 homers and 40 steals, which Ohtani achieved in 126 games, setting a new minimum game record.
On August 31, against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he hit his 43rd home run of the season and stole his 43rd base.
43 home runs and 43 steals were also the first in MLB history. 먹튀검증
Prior to Ohtani, the five players who achieved 40 homers and 40 steals were Jose Canseco (42 homers and 40 steals) in 1988, Barry Bonds (42 homers and 40 steals) in 1996, Alex Rodriguez (42 homers and 46 steals) in 1998, Alfonso Soriano (46 homers and 41 steals) in 2006, and Ronald Acuña Jr. (41 homers and 73 steals) in 2023. No player ever achieved 43 homers and 43 steals at the same time.
After achieving 40 home runs and 40 steals, great attention has been paid to whether Ohtani will achieve 50 home runs and 50 steals. Ohtani continued his advance, and in the game against the Chicago Cubs on the 12th, he hit his 47th home run of the season and stole his 48th base of the season, bringing him one step closer to 50 home runs and 50 steals.
Ohtani, who showed the value of “batter Ohtani,” is highly likely to win the MVP award. If he achieves his dream record of 50 homers and 50 steals, he will also be able to seek a unanimous MVP award.
Until now, a player who mainly played as a designated hitter has never won MVP. If Ohtani wins, it will also be the first time.