Posted on 08/19/2021 9:43:08 AM PDT by nikos1121
DETROIT -- Shohei Ohtani hit his 40th homer and pitched eight sharp innings, helping the Los Angeles Angels beat Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Wednesday night.
The Comerica Park crowd of 27,282 was hoping to see Cabrera hit his 500th career homer, but the slugger went 1-for-4 with a first-inning single.
"He's obviously one of the best hitters of all time and he's also a great person," Ohtani said. "I would have been OK with giving it up, and I hope he does it sooner rather than later."
Instead, Ohtani (8-1) put on a show. The Japanese right-hander allowed six hits, struck out eight and walked none in a 90-pitch outing. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, his 40 home runs are the highest hit by a pitcher in a single season, with Babe Ruth owning the next two slots: 1933 (34) and 1921 (20).
"I don't know what you can say about him that hasn't been said before," Angels manager Joe Maddon said. "He's not going to win the Triple Crown, but he's in the discussion for everything else. If you are a Cy Young or MVP voter, your eyes have to be wide open at this point."
Ohtani became the first major leaguer to hit 40 homers in a season in which he pitched at least 15 games. The previous record was 29 by Babe Ruth in 1919.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...
Well, his team, the Angels. They really suck.
I believe that when he pitches he also fills the DH role. But the question is if he gets pulled for a relief pitcher in the 6th inning then do the Angels also have to replace him as DH? Or can he keep hitting for the rest of the game?
Yeah, but what is his pronoun?
And I thought US was the most racist & xenophobic society in existence. How did this Japanese dude even get to play?
Wow, he’s a pretty amazing guy - and the comparisons with Babe Ruth are spot on, as pretty much no one else was ever that good of a pitcher with that kind of power.
I have been ignoring baseball, a childhood love/obsession of mine, for most of the last couple of decades because of all of the spoiled millionaires playing the game and setting no or horrible examples for kids. But this guy might bring me back to watching a little. LA team...F^&*, I hate LA! But to watch such a talent, I can swallow that.
Oh, and good on him for not just being a fantastic player, but a good sport as well. Almost like he came out of a time machine from 50 or more years ago. The Gen Z and other wokester players can learn from him.
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