‘Monster’ Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels) has joined the ranks of ‘legends’ with 2400 hits and 500 home runs in their Major League Baseball careers. He may not be an ‘idol’, but he is making history.
On Sept. 19 (ET), Ohtani made two starts at designated hitter and went 1-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs, and one run scored against the Kansas City Royals in the 2023 Major League Baseball World Series at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.메이저놀이터
Ohtani will be eligible for free agency for the first time in his career after this season. His price tag skyrocketed after he was named MVP of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March after leading Team Japan to victory as the “Idoryu” in the tournament, but he has once again increased his value in the regular season.
It’s a formula you can plug into any equation. In 14 starts on the mound, Ohtani is 6-2 with a 3.29 ERA. His ERA leads the major leagues and his 105 strikeouts are second in the American League behind Kevin Gausman (Toronto Blue Jays, 121).
Last year, he was more impressive on the mound than at the plate, but this year he’s back to being more impressive at the plate. About ⅔ of the way through June, Ohtani has a staggering 83 hits, 24 home runs, 58 RBIs, 59 runs scored, and a .300 OPS of 1.016 in 72 games, including nine arches. He currently leads the American League in home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, and OPS.
On April 18, Ohtani hit his 150th major league home run, the youngest player in Angels history to do so, and the fourth-fastest in all of baseball. Excluding his 15 games as a pitcher, he was third on the pace, ahead of Alex Rodriguez.
The good form continued on the 19th. Against Kansas City, Ohtani hit his 24th home run off “Ace” Zack Greinke, extending his hitting streak to 15 games, his on-base streak to 22 games, and his hitting streak to seven games. Ohtani, who has been on a tear lately and is easily shattering major league records, once again joined the ranks of the “legends” with his 19th home run.
According to Japan’s Full Count, Ohtani played in seven games over the course of the week, hitting six home runs and 10 RBIs, which led to the rest is history. According to the outlet, only Ted Williams (1957) and Mickey Mantle (1966) have ever had more than two doubles, six home runs, and 10 or more walks in seven games in Major League Baseball history, putting Ohtani in the same league as those legends.
Ted Williams was a “one-club man” who debuted with the Boston Red Sox in 1939 and went on to play in 2292 games over 19 seasons in the majors, hitting .344 with 521 home runs and a 1.116 OPS in 2654 at-bats, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966 with 93.4% of the vote. Mickey Mantle, a New York Yankees “one club man” who played in 2401 games over 18 seasons, batting .298 with 536 homers and a .977 OPS, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974 with 88.2% of the vote.
After a career-best performance over the past week, in which he hit .434 (10-for-23) with six home runs, 12 RBIs, nine runs scored and 10 doubles in seven games, Ohtani has a very good chance of being named the weekly MVP.
Ohtani’s price tag is currently estimated at $500 million. With the American League MVP and home run titles on the line at this rate, it’s hard to imagine how big of a deal Ohtani will be able to land in free agency, but $500 million seems like a pipe dream.