At the end of Otani’s analysis the average fastball of 157 kilometers is the level of batting balls
Ohtani Shohei (28, LA Angels), who is aiming for his second consecutive MVP title, has a red light.
Otani played as the second batter and starting pitcher in the first leg of the 2022 Major League Doubleheader game against the New York Yankees at Bronx Yankee Stadium in New York on the 3rd (Korea Standard Time), recording his fourth loss (3 wins) of the season with one hit (3 home runs) and one walk and four strikeouts. Even as a batter, he recorded one hit and two strikeouts in five at-bats, failing to prevent his team from losing 1-6, and the Angels fell into a quagmire of eight consecutive losses.
It’s not so strange for Otani to be relegated five innings ago. It’s rare since his debut in 2018, but it happened a few times, and every time, there was a reason, whether it was a drop in speed or an elbow or something.
However, there were no signs of abnormality on this day. The highest speed was 100.5 miles per hour (about 161.7km) and 97.5 miles (about 156.9km) on average, and the angle of breaking balls such as splitters and sliders was not bad.
It just hit me like a batting ball. From the start of the first inning, he gave Matt Carpenter a home run, a hit to Aaron Judge, and a two-run homer to Glaver Torres. Except for Carpenter, other Yankees batters quickly took the game and created a hit. Until coming down from the mound in the third inning, eight out of a total of 15 Yankees batters held out bats within three pitches, and hits and home runs were frequent. Ohtani, who had been inducing double-digit swings per game on average, threw 75 balls and drew only three swings on the same day.
After the game, LA Angels manager Joe Madden said, “It’s strange. It’s very rare for Otani to do this.” “Yankees are very good at reading. So I don’t blame anyone,” he defended.
Both Madden and Otani denied the possibility of stealing autographs. Madden said, “The opposing team can read (the ball mix) by watching the pitchers throw. Teams that are good at such things can benefit, so we have to be more cautious,” he explained. Otani also said, “There is a possibility that the Yankees’ batters figured out my ball rather than stealing the sign 안전공원
It would be even more serious if the Yankees’ batters noticed and hit the difference when they threw Otani’s ball combination or certain pitches. Ohtani, who won the American League MVP unanimously last year while pitching and batting, was also considered the No. 1 MVP candidate this season. In addition, he was expected to lead the Angels to the postseason with Mike Trout (31), who returned from injury. However, if analyzed, there will be a setback in the MVP’s second consecutive loss and the Angels’ challenge for the presidency.
This season, Otani has a 3.99 ERA in nine games as a pitcher, a batting average of 0.244 in 51 games, 11 home runs and 32 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.777