For the first time since the implementation of the designated hitter, we witnessed a true two-way player in a game. On ESPN’s national stage on Sunday Night Baseball, the Angels started Shohei Ohtani on the mound and positioned him in the batting order in the hole for two.
It all started with a bang and ended negatively and in a truly bizarre way.
This was the first time since 1976 that an AL team voluntarily gave up its DH position (via James Smyth) and even then the pitcher was hitting eighth place. In fact, as the ESPN broadcast pointed out, this was the first time since 1903 that a pitcher hit second in the batting order.
On the hill, Ohtani was pumping gas from the start, hitting 98 with his first shot and hitting as high as 101 on the radar at the first inning. He didn’t have much command with things out of speed, but his fastball was enough to get the job done while he worked on a two-lap walk.
So, it was Ohtani’s turn to hit and, man, he hit. In the first shot he saw, he hit 150 meters:
Admit it, you thought it was an exaggeration to say that Ohtani could hit 101 and 450 in the same game. And check this out: through that hitting, Ohtani now had the hardest shot launched by a starter this season and the most hit ball (115.2 mph) of the season by any player, ESPN Stats and Info reports.
No starting pitcher has hit anywhere in the first seven positions in the batting order since Babe Ruth in 1933 (via Pitching Ninja) In the last 50 years, only eight times a pitcher homered in the first round.
Things were going very well for Ohtani during four entries. He hit 1 in 3, but on his second hit, he absolutely hit a line-up for the center of the field. He also worked four goalless entries on the mound.
Things sort of unfolded on the hill in the fifth round, however. With two eliminations and a runner at the base, Ohtani walked with Adam Eaton and Jose Abreu. He managed to hit Yoan Moncada on a total score, hitting, but the ball escaped, catcher Max Stassi’s shot to first base to beat Moncada fled, and the shot home to prevent a second run from scoring also escaped. Abreu’s slide accidentally took Ohtani.
Yes, two races scheduled in a strikeout.
It was now 3-3 and Ohtani’s night was over.
Your final lines:
- 1 to 3, HR, R, RBI
- 4 2/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 7 K
There is nothing really to break in the attack. He hit the ball hard and it was great. On the mound, he struggled with the command at times and was left outside three more strokes by a manager apparently determined to give him a victory. The thing was absolutely unpleasant. He was still playing around 100 with things out of speed in the 90’s in his last entry. He just totally lost command at the end, when he was probably tired.
In general, this should be considered a success that lays the foundation for your future passes through the mountain. In the meantime, it will continue to be classified as DH when it is not launching.