Shohei Ohtani, the two-way hero for the Angels, has made it plain that he deserves to win the American League MVP Award for the second consecutive season. When asked to put Ohtani’s accomplishments over the previous two seasons into perspective, Phil Nevin went one step further.
To be honest, Nevin declared, “I think he’s the best baseball player anybody has ever seen.” “I really think that. All in all. You can’t argue, in my opinion, that he isn’t the greatest baseball player to have ever played the sport.”
Ohtani is having yet another incredible season. Through Wednesday, he had hit.273/.356/.521 through 156 games, with 34 home runs, 30 doubles, 11 stolen bases, and 95 RBIs. In 161 innings pitched, he has a 2.35 ERA, a 15-8 record, and 213 strikeouts. In the season finale against the A’s on Wednesday, he was set to make his 28th start of the year. If he succeeds, he’ll become the first player in AL or NL history to be qualified as both a pitcher and bat in the same season.
Because Ohtani established such a high standard last year, another superstar Mike Trout—who has won three AL MVP Awards—said he thinks people take what Ohtani is doing for granted. Trout stated that he believes Ohtani’s chances of winning this year have been harmed by Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who is regarded as the front-runner and hit his AL-record 62nd home run on Tuesday.
“He’s amazing,” Trout exclaimed. Because of what he accomplished the previous year, I believe that many people are ignoring his season. I asked a number of people, and they all said that he would be the MVP if he had this season instead of doing what he did the previous year. Disputes are difficult. It’s entertaining to see, yet I can’t take anything from Judge because I adore Judgey.
Coach Matt Wise’s aid in pitching This season, Ohtani has improved his strikeout rate and cut his walk rate significantly, all while adding two new pitches to his repertoire. In addition to his sweeping slider, Ohtani is now throwing a two-seamer and a hard slider with more depth, providing him with a variety of pitches to use during an outing. This is particularly useful if he decides to forgo his fastball, as he did in his previous start against the A’s, where he pitched a no-hitter into the eighth inning.
According to Wise, “He’s gotten better throughout the year, and he really shows the other guys how to compete.” “His ability to throw enough strikes was questioned a few years ago, but he proved that last season and emerged as one of baseball’s top starting pitchers. He has persisted in doing so while also adding a two-seam fastball that is among the finest in the world and, most recently, a new slider. He has simply consistently done extraordinary things.
Although Ohtani went deep 46 times last year, the one area where he is marginally below average is in the power category. However, Ohtani’s contact percentage has increased, and he is a more complete hitter overall than he was a year ago, according to hitting coach Jeremy Reed. Compared to 29.6% in 2021, he has struck out in 24.2% of his plate appearances this year.
Reed observed, “It’s obvious that he hasn’t hit as many home runs, but the other numbers are way up.” It’s a powerful, all-around hitter. He continues to improve daily. I believe we haven’t seen the best of him yet. That speaks highly of his talent. He’s a delight to be around and a really good worker. You notice something unique in the box every day.