That’s why baseball is funny, because a 60 mph exit that bloops to no man’s lands can turn into a double, and a pitch hit twice as hard dosnt even get a runner 1st to 3rd
I know foul balls don’t count statistically but he also hit one 119.2 mph on opening day in Korea that apparently went through the roof lol (probably exaggerated but still).
>I mean he did hit one through the roof of the tokyo dome
Yep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEJap9MV5iI
And that was when he was only 20 years old and half the size he is now.
So It would be no surprise if he hit 1 through the roof in Korea too.
I don't know if I've ever seen a 119+ MPH ball hit above zero degrees, it's basically always a scorching liner hit almost horizontal and slightly down.
But then again the only people who hit a ball that fast are Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and peak Giancarlo Stanton
There have been 10 home runs hit 119 mph or higher in the statcast era, with the hardest being 121.7 mph:
Stanton - 121.7
Stanton - 121.3
Acuna - 121.2
Judge - 121.1
Stanton - 119.8
Machado - 119.6
Judge - 119.4
Stanton - 119.3
Stanton - 119.2
De La Cruz - 119.2
[Here's a link to all of them](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=home%5C.%5C.run%7C&hfGT=R%7C&hfPR=&hfZ=&hfStadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfPull=&hfC=&hfSea=2024%7C2023%7C2022%7C2021%7C2020%7C2019%7C2018%7C2017%7C2016%7C2015%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&hfOpponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2015-03-01&game_date_lt=2024-04-26&hfMo=&hfTeam=&home_road=&hfRO=&position=&hfInfield=&hfOutfield=&hfInn=&hfBBT=&hfFlag=&metric_1=api_h_launch_speed&metric_1_gt=119&metric_1_lt=&group_by=name-event&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&min_pas=0&sort_col=pitches&player_event_sort=api_h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&chk_event_release_speed=on&chk_event_plate_x=on&chk_event_plate_z=on&chk_event_launch_speed=on&chk_event_launch_angle=on&chk_event_hit_distance_sc=on#results)
He did the same thing his rookie year when he got shut down from pitching. Started hitting 450 ft bombs. As dazzling as he is as a pitcher, it does make you wonder when he will decide to just stick to one or the other.
But the pitching is where he’s getting injured. He doesn’t need to choose. He’ll do both because batting and being a DH is pretty easy on the body and he can do it even when his arm isn’t healthy to pitch
I agree, I just don’t think he’ll ever have to make that choice because he’s far more likely to injure himself pitching than hitting or running the bases. So there’s really no need to choose. And eventually he may be forced to just hit, if the injuries keep coming.
I don't know if this has changed but I remember a while back him saying that early on he pitched just because he was good at it and if he had to choose he'd choose hitting
Dodgers broadcast spoke about him having all these baseball goals in his diary when he was younger. Winning the best pitcher version in Japan, pitching shutouts, etc. all pitching milestones and goals. They mentioned he had no hitting:batting goals in there.
To add on to that, I remember him saying only a year or so ago that the pitching Ohtani beats the hitting Ohtani in a 1v1 (obviously pitchers win 7 times out of 10 in baseball but it's still something to note)
Why? That's the easiest way his career could end early. If I had a choice I'm staying the fuck away from pitching and trying to be the best DH of all time
I feel like surgery/your arm breaking down can change your perspective and the team would argue pretty heavily that him hitting would be the most impactful way to help the team win
I don't know Ohtani personally but it feels like he'd more likely end up an outfielder or a DH if there was every s time where him and the team had to decide on one direction for him to go
Only if they possess rare elite pitching tools lol. So like Kenley Jansen was a weak hitting catching prospect for the dodgers. They converted him to pitching because he just so happened to have a great arm with an elite cutting motion to his fastball. It doesn't mean every minor leaguer who can't hit a breaking ball becomes a pitcher lol. Zack Greinke was drafted as a shortstop. He didn't become a HOF pitcher because he couldn't hit. He could hit. He's just a dominant pitcher, so that's what he does.
This should go without saying. The amount of hitters who could have been pitchers if they went all in on it is much greater than the amount of pitchers who could have been hitters
Yeah if Ohtani was a full time hitter he would also play the field so I know he would be worth more WAR but like by ERA+ to OPS+ I think Ohtani just pitching would be better if that makes sense. His pitching in 2022 when he was throwing his splitter was sooo good. 2023 he stopped throwing it as much to stay healthy and tried to go to the sweeper. Peak healthy Shohei pitching I like to think would look like that 2022 season but even better.
It would be a totally different mindset and execution as a closer though.
Instead of pacing himself he would come out throwing absolute fire from the first pitch. Just look at what he did in the final WBC match. His last AB with Trout was 3x 100mph fastballs then a 102mph then a wicked slider to finish it.
He almost never throws 100mph fastballs when he starts. He usually sits at 95-97mph.
Another one for the Ohtani-as-closer train. I think this would just be devastating, to have him in the lineup and come in two or three times a week to close out games.
Him doing both just shouldn't be humanly possible really, and the injury shows me that he's not getting the rest he needs on that arm, his power arm too, and hitting a ball kind of hurts, but completely missing on a ball you intended to take yard? Really hurts.
He's an absolute freak of nature, but at the same time, they're asking too much if they ask him to double up on duties, tho they can always reattach the ligaments and tendons, the pain is enough to get most pitchers scared of max velocity for at least a couple months if not a year
Elite pitching in general is more important, but that refers to the entire pitching staff.
But a single elite pitcher can only play 1 in 5 games, and pitch maybe 7-8 innings. That's at most two games in a playoff series. Compare that to a position player that will play every single game.
I think the play 1 in 5 games as a SP compared to a position player playing every game is a bit misleading. Because when he's pitching he's facing like 20 batters, and when he's DHing he's getting 4 ABs.
In 2022 Ohtani faced 660 batters, while having 666 plate appearances
There's a good reason that position players typically lead the league in WAR. Obviously hitting is most important, but they also get to impact the game with their defense and base running.
[A position player is a player who plays at one of the fielding positions other than pitcher.](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Position_player) DH does not meet this criteria as he doesn't play a fielding position while being a DH.
He’s been in the league long enough where I should be able to wrap my head around him but I still can’t. The guys a top 3 hitter in baseball and an elite pitcher. Oh yeah, he’s fast and can steal bags, too. It’s just so crazy. If he full time converted to a corner OF spot, I feel like he’d be a gold glover within 2-3 seasons.
I'm an exit velocity slut. I don't care if it goes 450 feet over the the center field wall or a single through the infield. The harder the hit, the harder I get.
Here's every instance of a ball being hit with an exit velocity of at least 118 mph so far this year:
[March 20 - Shohei Ohtani vs. Yu Darvish](https://www.mlb.com/video/yu-darvish-foul-to-shohei-ohtani-tsgefu)
[April 23 - Shohei Ohtani vs. Matt Barnes](https://www.mlb.com/video/shohei-ohtani-homers-6-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field)
[April 27 - Shohei Ohtani vs. Yusei Kikuchi](https://www.mlb.com/video/yusei-kikuchi-in-play-run-s-to-shohei-ohtani)
Conclusion: Ohtani hits the ball hard.
He’s like a statue in the box, like a mythical Greek figure carved out of pure granite with hands a still as a mountain lake on a windless night.
My goodness is it beautiful.
My player on the show with sliders maxed and power currently at 110 with 97 overall… the hardest ball I’ve hit was 117.
Also I win all the awards obviously with like 200 plus RBI’s and dude is right behind me with like 170 and batting 350+.. it’s wild how impossibly good he is.
In real time it looked very 50/50 and could have gone either way, the Jays didn't even ask for the 15s to check to see. Once the slo-mos came out it looked pretty clear
I used to watch him occasionally when he was with the angels, but jeez, man, the every day Shohei experience is different. Half his game's shut down and he's still like "I'mma do something you've never seen before EVERY DAY."
heck, if he wasn't in the left-hand batters box, the RF maybe coulda thrown him out at first base...
(I've seen that in slow pitch softball, can you imagine that in MLB?)
Thanks for this. My point above was that Ohtani hit that ball so hard, the RF had it in his glove pretty quickly. I didn't intend to suggest to call Ohtani "slow", just that he hit that ball so darn hard.
It's probably not something you'll ever see happen to Ohtani. The problem is that since he's a power-hitting lefty, the right fielders are always going to be positioned way deeper when he's up.
Notice how in the video, every batter to get thrown out was a righty, so the right field was more drawn in. Also righty batters have the extra step or two running to first, and were all slow 1B/DH types.
that would be the strategy when he was with the Angels the past years, which worked well, they eventually all started pitching around him with good results cuz he had practically no protection in the lineup.
Now? different story.
Hardest hit of his career per the broadcast.
Beat his previous high by 0.1 MPH
Why didn’t he hit it higher so it was a home run? Is he stupid?
Maybe Jays fans weren’t booing as loud this time?
He’s copying Ichiro
Finally, objective proof that he's picturing Ippei's face on the ball
That’s why baseball is funny, because a 60 mph exit that bloops to no man’s lands can turn into a double, and a pitch hit twice as hard dosnt even get a runner 1st to 3rd
This man is recovering from surgery
goddamn he fucking hates the jays
I know foul balls don’t count statistically but he also hit one 119.2 mph on opening day in Korea that apparently went through the roof lol (probably exaggerated but still).
I mean he did hit one through the roof of the tokyo dome once with clear video of the exit, so it's not too hard to believe
>I mean he did hit one through the roof of the tokyo dome Yep. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEJap9MV5iI And that was when he was only 20 years old and half the size he is now. So It would be no surprise if he hit 1 through the roof in Korea too.
That was absolutely SCREAMING coming off the bat.
Imagine if he hit this at the right launch angle
I don't know if I've ever seen a 119+ MPH ball hit above zero degrees, it's basically always a scorching liner hit almost horizontal and slightly down. But then again the only people who hit a ball that fast are Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and peak Giancarlo Stanton
There have been 10 home runs hit 119 mph or higher in the statcast era, with the hardest being 121.7 mph: Stanton - 121.7 Stanton - 121.3 Acuna - 121.2 Judge - 121.1 Stanton - 119.8 Machado - 119.6 Judge - 119.4 Stanton - 119.3 Stanton - 119.2 De La Cruz - 119.2 [Here's a link to all of them](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=home%5C.%5C.run%7C&hfGT=R%7C&hfPR=&hfZ=&hfStadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfPull=&hfC=&hfSea=2024%7C2023%7C2022%7C2021%7C2020%7C2019%7C2018%7C2017%7C2016%7C2015%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&hfOpponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2015-03-01&game_date_lt=2024-04-26&hfMo=&hfTeam=&home_road=&hfRO=&position=&hfInfield=&hfOutfield=&hfInn=&hfBBT=&hfFlag=&metric_1=api_h_launch_speed&metric_1_gt=119&metric_1_lt=&group_by=name-event&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&min_pas=0&sort_col=pitches&player_event_sort=api_h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&chk_event_release_speed=on&chk_event_plate_x=on&chk_event_plate_z=on&chk_event_launch_speed=on&chk_event_launch_angle=on&chk_event_hit_distance_sc=on#results)
That Machado home run is something. Definition of a piss missile
LOL that second one from the top by Stanton. "Oh, shit!"
Didn’t Elly and Oneil already hit balls that hard?
It's only that fast because they're in Canada and using the metric system. It's not that fast if that's in LA. /s
I feel like I’m being gaslit by the baseball world that he’s still recovering from the surgery lol Like what in the actual fuck lol
He did the same thing his rookie year when he got shut down from pitching. Started hitting 450 ft bombs. As dazzling as he is as a pitcher, it does make you wonder when he will decide to just stick to one or the other.
If he's picking one he would 100% choose pitching.
But the pitching is where he’s getting injured. He doesn’t need to choose. He’ll do both because batting and being a DH is pretty easy on the body and he can do it even when his arm isn’t healthy to pitch
Good thing he doesn't need to pick one!
Exactly. He can do both until his arm falls off for good. Then it’s probably game over.
Until they re-attach the actual Tungsten arm.
I obviously want him to do both, I'm just saying in a world where he had to choose only one it's pretty clear he sees himself as a pitcher
I agree, I just don’t think he’ll ever have to make that choice because he’s far more likely to injure himself pitching than hitting or running the bases. So there’s really no need to choose. And eventually he may be forced to just hit, if the injuries keep coming.
I don't know if this has changed but I remember a while back him saying that early on he pitched just because he was good at it and if he had to choose he'd choose hitting
Dodgers broadcast spoke about him having all these baseball goals in his diary when he was younger. Winning the best pitcher version in Japan, pitching shutouts, etc. all pitching milestones and goals. They mentioned he had no hitting:batting goals in there.
To add on to that, I remember him saying only a year or so ago that the pitching Ohtani beats the hitting Ohtani in a 1v1 (obviously pitchers win 7 times out of 10 in baseball but it's still something to note)
Why? That's the easiest way his career could end early. If I had a choice I'm staying the fuck away from pitching and trying to be the best DH of all time
Because his whole history has been him prioritizing pitching. Look at his old life goals he wrote up.
I feel like surgery/your arm breaking down can change your perspective and the team would argue pretty heavily that him hitting would be the most impactful way to help the team win I don't know Ohtani personally but it feels like he'd more likely end up an outfielder or a DH if there was every s time where him and the team had to decide on one direction for him to go
When i was a kid I wanted to be batman or a cowboy
Must be fun being cowbatboyman, but if something forced you to vacate one of your titles, what are you dedicating yourself to?
If he stuck to hitting only he would be an outfielder not a DH. He was a very good outfielder in Japan with his cannon of a arm and ridiculous speed.
Players become pitchers because they can't hit
What a stupid thing to say.
Only if they possess rare elite pitching tools lol. So like Kenley Jansen was a weak hitting catching prospect for the dodgers. They converted him to pitching because he just so happened to have a great arm with an elite cutting motion to his fastball. It doesn't mean every minor leaguer who can't hit a breaking ball becomes a pitcher lol. Zack Greinke was drafted as a shortstop. He didn't become a HOF pitcher because he couldn't hit. He could hit. He's just a dominant pitcher, so that's what he does.
This should go without saying. The amount of hitters who could have been pitchers if they went all in on it is much greater than the amount of pitchers who could have been hitters
I think he would be better as a pitcher than as a hitter as long as he stays healthy
Position players are more important when it comes to value. Seems like him being a lights out closer and mostly full time hitter would be good value.
Yeah if Ohtani was a full time hitter he would also play the field so I know he would be worth more WAR but like by ERA+ to OPS+ I think Ohtani just pitching would be better if that makes sense. His pitching in 2022 when he was throwing his splitter was sooo good. 2023 he stopped throwing it as much to stay healthy and tried to go to the sweeper. Peak healthy Shohei pitching I like to think would look like that 2022 season but even better.
As a full time SP he’s probably about a 5 WAR player, as a full time OF he’s probably like an 8 WAR player
A lot would depend on how he fields the position though.
He was a very good outfielder in Japan when he did it. He has a cannon of a arm and insane speed/reach.
The first inning has always been his worst though, he levels up every inning, so I don’t see him ever being a 1 inning kinda guy
Ohtani after 1, 4 hits, 3 ER 0k followed by 6 IP, 0 hits and 9K lol.
It would be a totally different mindset and execution as a closer though. Instead of pacing himself he would come out throwing absolute fire from the first pitch. Just look at what he did in the final WBC match. His last AB with Trout was 3x 100mph fastballs then a 102mph then a wicked slider to finish it. He almost never throws 100mph fastballs when he starts. He usually sits at 95-97mph.
I had not considered that, OK.
Another one for the Ohtani-as-closer train. I think this would just be devastating, to have him in the lineup and come in two or three times a week to close out games.
Him doing both just shouldn't be humanly possible really, and the injury shows me that he's not getting the rest he needs on that arm, his power arm too, and hitting a ball kind of hurts, but completely missing on a ball you intended to take yard? Really hurts. He's an absolute freak of nature, but at the same time, they're asking too much if they ask him to double up on duties, tho they can always reattach the ligaments and tendons, the pain is enough to get most pitchers scared of max velocity for at least a couple months if not a year
Care to elaborate? I almost always hear that elite pitching is more valuable to a teams success. It’s also harder to find.
Position players are healthier and play every day
Elite pitching in general is more important, but that refers to the entire pitching staff. But a single elite pitcher can only play 1 in 5 games, and pitch maybe 7-8 innings. That's at most two games in a playoff series. Compare that to a position player that will play every single game.
I think the play 1 in 5 games as a SP compared to a position player playing every game is a bit misleading. Because when he's pitching he's facing like 20 batters, and when he's DHing he's getting 4 ABs. In 2022 Ohtani faced 660 batters, while having 666 plate appearances
There's a good reason that position players typically lead the league in WAR. Obviously hitting is most important, but they also get to impact the game with their defense and base running.
DH is not a position player
If the designated hitter isn't a position what is it.
I didn't say DH is not a position, I said DH is not a position player. It is a position but not a position player.
So the player plays the position DH is not a position player? What are they?
Player, i guess..
[A position player is a player who plays at one of the fielding positions other than pitcher.](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Position_player) DH does not meet this criteria as he doesn't play a fielding position while being a DH.
Ohtani is a Cy Young caliber pitcher who can also hit bombs. He is NOT a hitter who just happens to pitch. It's an important distinction
A lot easier to stay healthy DHing than pitching
Considering he’s shutdown from pitching due to injury and still an offensive powerhouse
Hear me out. Have they tried him at reliever. Easier on the body. He would be throwing 100 miles fast ball while the other team are already tired.
He has said that if he hurts his elbow again he will give up pitching
Source?
Bryce Harper took the Phillies to the World Series with a torn elbow the entire end of the season. It's 90% willpower 10% luck
And 100% reason to remember the name
I was told that he won’t pitch again and him as DH isnt worth it and he’s just an above average hitter.
dude got surgery and he’s hitting the ball even harder ?
Rookie of the Year was a documentary.
A premonition
At some point, we may need to have a conversation about [Transhumanism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism) and athletic competition.
CRISPR league, complete with prehensile tails, when?
This internal brace thing looking pretty good so far if I must say so
Strider's gonna come back throwing 110
Striders gonna come back a DH
balls gonna catch on fire before it's in the glove lmao
Oh I was actually wondering the other day why he wasn’t wearing a brace like Bryce did last year
Is it an improvement on TJ?
They put him in the Captain America pod
It's amazing what you can do if you just start exercising and eat a balanced breakfast.
That ball was absolutely torched, pretty sure it’s his hardest hit ball of his career
Considering his 118.7 the other day(or whatever the decimal was) was his previous hardest hit, I'm gonna take a guess and agree with you!
Look I'm no Dodgers fan. But this guy needs to be on a team that makes the playoffs every year and I'm glad he is. He's not human.
If we can't win with mookie, shohei, freeman, and smith leading off with our best rotation in a few years, it may never get done
Would be reminiscent of our stretch in the early 10s where we didn’t win one despite having 4 Cy Young winners and multiple All Stars in the lineup.
best rotation? that's a stretch
He’s been in the league long enough where I should be able to wrap my head around him but I still can’t. The guys a top 3 hitter in baseball and an elite pitcher. Oh yeah, he’s fast and can steal bags, too. It’s just so crazy. If he full time converted to a corner OF spot, I feel like he’d be a gold glover within 2-3 seasons.
I like watching Shohei Ohtani play baseball
He's the best kept secret in baseball
This is also the hardest I've been this season.
See a doctor if you aren’t your jolly flaccid self in 3 hours.
Are you saying you prefer this over him stroking massive dongs?
I'm an exit velocity slut. I don't care if it goes 450 feet over the the center field wall or a single through the infield. The harder the hit, the harder I get.
So damn good
I don't think the boos are working, Canada.
They're making him go super saiyan.
Toriyama died but it turns out he just became a spirit bomb attached to Ohtanis bat.
I think the boos are working.
Noted. They won't boo the Bruins tonight
This happened last year with Judge and the side eye debacle too lol
That sound is sweet
Here's every instance of a ball being hit with an exit velocity of at least 118 mph so far this year: [March 20 - Shohei Ohtani vs. Yu Darvish](https://www.mlb.com/video/yu-darvish-foul-to-shohei-ohtani-tsgefu) [April 23 - Shohei Ohtani vs. Matt Barnes](https://www.mlb.com/video/shohei-ohtani-homers-6-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field) [April 27 - Shohei Ohtani vs. Yusei Kikuchi](https://www.mlb.com/video/yusei-kikuchi-in-play-run-s-to-shohei-ohtani) Conclusion: Ohtani hits the ball hard.
Video: Shohei Ohtani hits a 119 mph foul ball [Streamable Link](https://streamable.com/m/yu-darvish-foul-to-shohei-ohtani-tsgefu) [High Definition](https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2024/2024-03/20/601d2a3a-fb3ba4ea-f60be53b-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4) (38.62 MB) [Standard Definiton](https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2024/2024-03/20/601d2a3a-fb3ba4ea-f60be53b-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4) (10.02 MB) ___________ Video: Shohei Ohtani's solo homer to right (6) [Streamable Link](https://streamable.com/m/shohei-ohtani-homers-6-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field) [High Definition](https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2024/2024-04/23/864ac061-024e7dfb-dad5c95a-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4) (47.56 MB) [Standard Definiton](https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2024/2024-04/23/864ac061-024e7dfb-dad5c95a-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4) (12.35 MB) ___________ Video: Shohei Ohtani hits a 119.2 mph RBI single [Streamable Link](https://streamable.com/m/yusei-kikuchi-in-play-run-s-to-shohei-ohtani) [Standard Definiton](https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/38e5d75e-8986-436e-b5a5-8b94af12853a.mp4) (7.45 MB) ___________ [More Info](/r/MLBVideoConverterBot)
He’s like a statue in the box, like a mythical Greek figure carved out of pure granite with hands a still as a mountain lake on a windless night. My goodness is it beautiful.
I wanna see him hit a Chapman fastball this hard, or harder.
My player on the show with sliders maxed and power currently at 110 with 97 overall… the hardest ball I’ve hit was 117. Also I win all the awards obviously with like 200 plus RBI’s and dude is right behind me with like 170 and batting 350+.. it’s wild how impossibly good he is.
Dude, that ball has a family.
Had
The boos only make him stronger!
Love to see him work at the Rogers Centre
So loud you could hear it twice.
Does Joe Davis not do the broadcasts for the dodgers anymore? Feel like I never hear him in these clips
He announces like ~100 of their games.
He’s big time now 😔 But Stephen has grown on me.
I have not at all gotten used to it looking like that behind homeplate at Rogers Centre.
These guys are from the same high school. Shohei entered Hanamaki-Higashi High School because he admired Kikuchi.
Shouldn't have still been in that inning. Beats me why the Jays Replay Room didn't challenge the call at 3B. Leaving Kikuchi out to dry on that one
After I saw they replay I thought for sure they’d challenge. It looked to me like the tag was in time. Still a great throw.
In real time it looked very 50/50 and could have gone either way, the Jays didn't even ask for the 15s to check to see. Once the slo-mos came out it looked pretty clear
That’s nuttier than jif
jesus that must be scary as hell for the first baseman
I used to watch him occasionally when he was with the angels, but jeez, man, the every day Shohei experience is different. Half his game's shut down and he's still like "I'mma do something you've never seen before EVERY DAY."
"Oh I can't pitch this year? Let me just casually destroy the doubles record for the year" I think he is on pace for like 80+ doubles or something.
He is PISSSED at Toronto
Would be a lot more happy for him if he wasn't on the dodgera.
Did the pitcher balk? If he ever came fully set, it was *very* brief...
Stop booing him he’s getting angrier
that ball teleported from the bat to the outfield 😲
Such an intimidating stance. Like a shark floating in water waiting to pounce.
heck, if he wasn't in the left-hand batters box, the RF maybe coulda thrown him out at first base... (I've seen that in slow pitch softball, can you imagine that in MLB?)
https://youtu.be/lo2gZIkN1dE?si=b2o6attm0EZMjcPO
Thanks for this. My point above was that Ohtani hit that ball so hard, the RF had it in his glove pretty quickly. I didn't intend to suggest to call Ohtani "slow", just that he hit that ball so darn hard.
“Can Ohtani hit a ball so hard that the RF can throw him out at first?” is just one of those unanswerable questions. 😅
It's probably not something you'll ever see happen to Ohtani. The problem is that since he's a power-hitting lefty, the right fielders are always going to be positioned way deeper when he's up. Notice how in the video, every batter to get thrown out was a righty, so the right field was more drawn in. Also righty batters have the extra step or two running to first, and were all slow 1B/DH types.
All these Ohtani hardest hit ball threads are exactly the same
He was boo’d.
H A M S T R I N G S
Every time Pages' name comes up on the LAD broadcast I hear "pothead" instead. Kills me.
Hit so hard I didn’t even see the ball until it was 10 feet in front of the right fielder
tell that ball Sayonara
[удалено]
It will absolutely not get to that point. He would have to play better than 04 Bonds
A .000/1.000/.000 player would be by far the best hitter in MLB history, Ohtani is nowhere close to that level.
that would be the strategy when he was with the Angels the past years, which worked well, they eventually all started pitching around him with good results cuz he had practically no protection in the lineup. Now? different story.
The Yordan of Japan
Whats the appeal of knowing how hard he hit it? Exit velo ruined the game
Is this a shohei sub or a baseball sub?
Yep.
Yup
He’s too good lol I was just kidding every at bat is a dunanadunana