Ohtani!

“I think it’s wasteful to limit myself without any reason by saying, ‘It’s my limit’.”

– Baseball Star Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani just completed his fourth season of Major League baseball after playing five seasons in his native Japan. Ohtani is 27 years old, bats left and throws right, and has had an incredible impact on Major League Baseball by being both a batter and a pitcher! He was the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year when he batted .285 with 22 homers and 61 runs batted in. He also pitched that season  and was 4-2 with a 3.31 Earned Run Average. In 2021, Ohtani was sensational both as a hitter and a pitcher!

I generally believe a League Most Valuable Player should not come from a team that is not in contention, and in 2021, Ohtani’s LA Angels were not in the race. However, what Ohtani accomplished both as a hitter and a pitcher lead me to believe he should be the American League MVP! Ohtani belted 46 home runs and both scored and drove in 100 runs! His won-loss record was 9-2 with a 3.18 in 23 starts! Nobody has done what Ohtani did since Babe Ruth in 1919! Ohtani became the first player ever selected to an All-Star team as both a pitcher and a batter! He was the starting pitcher and threw a scoreless inning! Shohei Ohtani’s sensational 2021 came after two injury plagued and sub par seasons in 2019 and 2020. He was the talk of the Baseball World in 2021! Let’s see what he does for an encore in 2022!