There isn’t much we could say about Shohei Ohtani that hasn’t been said already. The Los Angeles Angels superstar isn’t only the best player in Major League Baseball but perhaps the biggest show in allsports right now.
Ohtani continued his incredible season by topping career bests in both home runs (40) and innings pitched (8) last night, striking out 8 without any free rides and surrendering just 1 earned run.
The Angels beat the Detroit Tigers 3-1 and Ohtani stole all the headlines on a night everybody was waiting for Miguel Cabrera’s 500th dinger. Sadly for the future Hall of Famer, Ohtani was simply dominant.
Joe Maddon Praises Shohei Ohtani After 8 IP Performance
That’s why Angels’ coach Joe Maddon showered Ohtani in praise after the game. Maddon, just like most of us, is running out of words to describe just how much of an incredible season he’s having:
“What can you possibly say that hasn’t already been said?” Maddon said. “He wasn’t looking for the punchout early, and later in the game his stuff kept building. I would’ve sent him out for the ninth, but he was fatigued. But it worked out well, obviously. He gave up a homer on a hanging slider, but I think in the worst way, he wanted to get that run back, and he did with a prodigious blast to right field. The superlatives, I mean just give this man credit. He’s a unique athlete, and he’s special to watch.“
Ohtani is currently leading the race to win the American League MVP. But more than that, Maddon believes that he should also be in the Cy Young conversation after going 8-1 with a 2.79 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 100 innings of work:
“Making a case? Absolutely,” Maddon said. “He’s in the middle of everything. Every award that’s going to be given out, he’s in the middle of it.”
Ohtani Says He Always Wants To Go The Distance
Ohtani just needed 90 pitches to navigate through 8 innings. And even though most of us expected him to get the complete game, the Angels played it safe with their superstar and brought in Raisel Iglesias to get the save:
“I’m never satisfied unless I go the distance,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “But I was letting it eat from the sixth inning on, so I got a little tired. And we have a great closer in Iglesias.”
“At that point, I wasn’t sure if I was going to go back out or not,” Ohtani said of his league-leading 40th home run in the 8th inning. “So I wanted to get that insurance run. It was huge for me and the team.”
Ohtani is doing things we never thought a player would be able to do. We talk a lot about Babe Ruth and for very good reasons, but what this man is doing is unprecedented, and he’s just getting started.
