MLB has a star on its hands and his name is Shohei Ohtani. The Japanese pitcher has been rewriting the record book the last three seasons, not only with his work on the mound. Not only can the 28-year-old throw 100mph fastballs but he also leads the league in home runs with 35 so far this regular season. For a pitcher to be as lethal with bat in hand as he is from the mound is unheard of in the modern game and yet that’s what we’re dealing with. The Los Angeles Angels may not have the best win-loss record in the American League but there is little debate that they have by far its best player. His performances have earned him a selection as an All-Star and justifiably put him in contention for MVP but can he maintain his momentum to propel the Angels to a postseason appearance? Here’s a deeper look at just how good Ohtani has been in MLB.
Only Aaron Judge stopped Ohtani from claiming the MVP award last season because of his gargantuan homerun tally, but in any other season, the Japanese superstar would’ve had it in the bag. 138 hits and 103 runs in 2021 was followed up with 160 hits and 90 runs in 2022, a tally he is already two-thirds of the way to matching with plenty of games in the season still to go. He has 35 home runs from 32 games this season including three two homerun games meaning he is on track to match Aaron Judge’s American League record of 62 that the New York Yankees star set in 2022. That in itself puts him front and centre of the MVP contest. For those who enjoy betting on MLB, Ohtani is -800 to win the MVP this year. But he is not only a rare talent with the bat, he’s equally as impressive when it comes to his pitching. From his first five starts, Ohtani allowed no more than three hits in each start and opponents were hitting .092 against him in 105 plate appearances. That batting average of .092 opponents from those opening five outings is the lowest through five starts since the mound moved back to 60 feet, six inches in 1893. Including that run of five starts to open up his 2023 MLB campaign and running on from the previous season, Ohtani allowed no more than three hits in nine consecutive starts, the second-longest such streak in history. His output has earned him plenty of comparisons to Babe Ruth but to be honest, if Ohtani continues his rate of output he will soon eclipse anything the Great Bambino posted.
As a hitter last season, he ranked among the American League’s best in home runs, RBIs, triples, runs scored, slugging percentage and even intentional walks. As a pitcher last season, he ranked among the American League’s best in wins, ERA, strikeouts, WHIP and opponent batting average. But what’s more impressive is that based on current projections he is set to improve on those stats, scoring 56 homeruns and earning 254 strikeouts. Either of those by themselves would make a stellar season but a combination of the two would put him on course for one of the greatest MLB seasons of all time. His most recent accomplishment is that he became only the second player in MLB history to hit more than 32 home runs and steal over 11 bases before the All-Star break. The only other player in history to do so was Ohtani himself back in his MVP year of 2021. The statistics are mind-boggling and the list of superlatives used to describe the man’s accomplishments will soon be exhausted but such is the season he is having. The 28-year-old is a human highlight reel and with so much of his career still to come and the Japanese superstar seemingly improving year-on-year, it’s a daunting prospect for opponents to consider that he might yet get better.
With that said, if the Angels don’t pull it together to make the postseason it seems almost certain that Ohtani would be moving elsewhere come next year. If that were the case it would be a guarantee that he would double his current salary of $30 million when he did make a move to another franchise as an unrestricted free agent in 2024. There’s a real possibility of a long-term lucrative contract being tabled north of $500 million if that were the case and given his performances with bat and ball it would be justified. It would put him amongst some of MLB’s top earners like his Angels teammate Mike Trout who signed a 12-year deal in 2019 guaranteeing him over $400 million. Trout is a high-profile player in the Angels roster himself and admitted, even before a game was played, that his teammate is a cut above the rest. Speaking before the 2023 season he said: “He’s got the best stuff in the league, I think. I don’t think I’ve talked to anybody in the league that wants to face that dude. And at the plate, he’s got very little weaknesses.” Meanwhile, MVP counterpart Judge earns $40 million a year with the Yankees. Even this early on in the campaign it seems certain that Ohtani will clinch the MVP award in 2023 and his peers certainly think he should. Angels manager Phil Niven last week said: Aaron Judge, I’ve said it a million times, is like a son to me but until somebody does it on both sides of the baseball, Ohtani should be MVP. What was the difference between last year and two years ago because he was even better last year and didn’t win it? As long as he’s doing what he’s doing and we’re doing what we plan to do, there is no question he should be MVP.” But perhaps the best compliment, and the one that sums up the magnitude of his talents, is what Hall of fame pitcher Greg Maddux had to say about the Japanese pitcher on ESPN Radio. “He kind of reminds you of Nolan Ryan, and then he reminds you of freaking Barry Bonds. He’s both of those guys. I mean, he’s got great stuff and he can hit a home run with the best of anybody. Nobody else has done it before; I mean, the last guy was who, maybe Babe Ruth? Nobody’s been able to do that.” He is a generational talent enjoying his best year to date so MLB fans should just sit back and appreciate the work of a legend in the making.