Baseball genius Shohei Ohtani (29-LA Angels) is history in the making. He is the first pitcher in the major leagues to lead the league in both home runs and ERA, and he is unrivaled in the pitching department. He’s on pace to repeat as American League (AL) MVP after narrowly missing out last year.
Ohtani started and batted second in the Angels’ 5-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on April 16, and his two-hit performance helped lead the Angels to victory.
The right-hander allowed two runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts in six innings of quality work to improve to 6-2 on the season and lower his ERA from 3.32 to 3.29. Dominated the Texas lineup with sweepers (47), cutters (28), and curves (18) centered around a four-seam fastball that topped out at 100.3 mph (161.4 km/h).스포츠토토
At the plate, he went 1-for-2 with a double, two RBIs and two walks. With a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning, he crushed a high slider outside the zone from Texas left-hander Brock Burke over the center field wall. It was his 22nd two-run homer of the season. Ohtani, who extended his hitting streak to 12 games, raised his season average to triple digits (.301).
Ohtani, who leads the majors with a 1.178 ERA as a pitcher, also moved into first place in home runs. His 22nd home run of the day tied him for the National League (NL) lead with Pete Alonso (New York Mets).
According to MLB.com, Ohtani made history by becoming the first pitcher since 1900 with at least 70 innings pitched to lead the league in ERA, home runs, and total bases. It’s a first, as no other player has ever done it as well as Ohtani.
With his dominance at the plate, Ohtani is expected to win his second AL MVP award in as many years in 2021. Angels manager Phil Nevin is once again pushing the “Ohtani MVP theory” after last year.
[OSEN=Annaheim (California, USA), Kyuhan Choi, reporter] Angels manager Phil Nevin shares the joy of victory with Shohei Ohtani. 2022.06.10 / dreamer@osen.co.kr
[Photo] Angels manager Phil Nevin (left) celebrates a home run with Aaron Judge during his time as the New York Yankees’ third base coach. ⓒGettyimages (All rights reserved)
After the game, Nevin said, “As I said last year, Aaron Judge (of the New York Yankees) is like a son to me, but the MVP should have been Ohtani. What’s the difference between last year and when he won the MVP two years ago?” he asked, questioning why Ohtani lost the MVP to Jersey last year, before adding, “If he’s playing as well as he’s playing, there’s no question about the MVP.”
Nevin has a strong relationship with Judge, having served as the Yankees’ third base coach for four years from 2018 to 2021. Last year, Judge won the MVP award over Ohtani, who hit 62 home runs, the most ever by a non-PED hitter, and was a two-hit wonder. In September of last year, Nevin said, “Ohtani is the most valuable player in baseball right now. He’s dominating in a way that no one else is,” Nevin said in September of last year.
This season, the two are still leading the MVP race. Judge was on pace to hit a league-high 19 home runs before leaving a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 4 with a toe injury, but was overtaken by Ohtani while on the disabled list. The longer Judge is out, the more the AL MVP race looks like it will be Ohtani’s to lose.