It didn’t take long for Shohei Ohtani to show off his prodigious talents.
Making a double play against the White Sox on Sunday night, Ohtani played twice 160 km / h with his fastball on a goalless top in the first inning – reaching 100.6 – without allowing a hit.
In the bottom half of the inning, Ohtani opened the first shot he saw and smashed it over the right field wall, getting a 1-0 lead.
The explosion had an outlet speed of 115.2 mph, which harder for angels since Statcast was introduced in 2015, and has been 451 feet. His 160 km / h fastball was the hardest shot by an initial pitcher this season, while the home run was the hardest hit by any player in 2021, by ESPN Stats & Info.
Ohtani’s first inning had all kinds of historical footnotes. Here are some of the highlights:
- He is the first American League pitcher to homer in the first round of a game since August 26, 1968.
- He is AL’s first starting pitcher to homer against another AL team since Roric Harrison in 1972, the last year without the designated hitter.
- Ohtani is the first pitcher to hit second in the batting order since 1903.
- He is the first Angels pitcher to hit an AL opponent since Nolan Ryan on September 30, 1972.
Ohtani had never hit a game before or after one of his starts on a hill before Sunday night, let alone done both in the same game. As a rookie in 2018, he achieved 4-2 with an ERA of 3.31 and 63 eliminations in 10 matches and hit 0.285 with 22 home runs in 367 plate appearances.
Coach Joe Maddon has promised to remove Ohtani’s restrictions this season. With initial results like this, it’s easy to see why.