It is safe to say that it is truly the Otani Angels. Shohei Otani (29, LA Angels) is dominating the team’s record with his ever-riving pitching and batting performance.
ESPN’s program “Sports Center” in the U.S. introduced on SNS on the 18th (Korea Standard Time) that Otani is ranked first in 12 categories within the team, saying, “Ottani is carrying the LA Angels.”
Otani played as the Angels’ second designated hitter in the 2023 Major League Baseball away game against Kansas City at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, and scored one hit (one home run) and two RBIs in four at-bats.
Although the team failed to keep its six-point lead and suffered a 9-10 come-from-behind defeat, Otani’s performance shone. In the top of the fifth inning, he hit a grounder 메이저놀이터 to second base with one out and runners on first and third bases, and added an RBI after being ruled safe at first base with a quick foot. He then hit a 437-foot solo home run over the middle fence in the seventh inning. After an 8-8 tie, he also picked up a walk in the top of the ninth inning to create a chance, and the next batter Mike Trout hit and the Angels added one point.
Although the game was defeated on this day, the Angels have been performing their best in recent years with Otani’s performance. With a season winning rate of 0.548 (40-33 losses), the Angels are the same as the third-place Houston Astros (0.549) who qualified for the postseason in the American League Wild Card Race and ranked fourth, slightly behind in the winning rate.
Including the game, Otani has a batting average of 0.300, 23 home runs, 56 RBIs, 48 runs, and 10 steals in at-bat this season, OPS 1.011, and 6 wins, 2 losses, 105 strikeouts, and a 3.29 ERA in 14 games on the mound. Pitcher and batter alone are excellent records, but Ohtani is doing both.
What is surprising is that Otani holds several of the team’s top records in both pitching and hitting. At-bat, he leads the team in nine categories: home runs, RBIs, stolen bases, runs, hits (82 hits), walks (38, tied for first place with Trout), on-base percentage (0.385), slugging percentage (0.626), and OPS. It is surprising that there are the most hits and steals, as well as long-term home runs and slugging percentages. While “Living Legend” Trout has slowed down this season (batting average 0.252, 14 home runs, OPS 0.820), Otani is leading the lineup.
On top of that, as a pitcher, Ohtani is running first in multiple wins, ERA, and strikeouts. Inning is also the most with 82 innings is also the most. The number of wins is not much different from other players, but strikeouts are close to 30 with second-place lead Detmus (76). The ERA is also the only one in the team to fill regular innings, but has the lowest record among the starters.
Even in the league as a whole, Otani’s performance is excellent. On the 18th, he hit a home run and became the leader in all home runs in the two major leagues, and OPS was also the only player to exceed 1.0 among the players who met the regulation at-bats. On the mound, he became the second-most-caught player in the American League strikeout category after Kevin Gausman (Toronto, 121).
As a result, it will be possible to recapture the American League MVP, which was unanimously awarded two years ago. With strong rival Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) leaving due to injury, Ohtani has an advantage in the home run king competition.