April 9, 20187 yr I wonder about the fatigue of trying to do it all over a whole season, but it's a hell of an impressive start.
April 9, 20187 yr He's got more raw talent than most of the others to come over. Will be interesting to see if he can have consistency at this level. So far he has started off hot.
April 9, 20187 yr I expect a drop off at some point during the season, but he’s off to a hell of a start.
April 9, 20187 yr He will be ok as long as they don't overwork him. I think it's reasonable for him to DH twice a week and pitch once a week.
April 9, 20187 yr It'll be interesting to see if he can handle it over the course of a season. It has certainly been fun to watch so far.
April 9, 20187 yr Dude is sick. I don't see the DH/pitcher thing lasting long term, but it's fun to watch.
April 9, 20187 yr Freakish to have such talents to hit and pitch, as to me they’ve always seemed largely unrelated. I get the whole eye-hand coordination thing, but few other top hitters or pitchers seem to have had both skill sets. Curious to see at what point he struggles in one or both areas and how he adapts from there. No one can doubt the talent. Edited April 9, 20187 yr by Gut Wagon
April 9, 20187 yr I'm waiting for the inflatable Ohtani doll to come out and blurry Instagram videos of Derka humping it.
April 9, 20187 yr 1 hour ago, Gut Wagon said: Freakish to have such talents to hit and pitch, as to me they’ve always seemed largely unrelated. I get the whole eye-hand coordination thing, but few other top hitters or pitchers seem to have had both skill sets. Curious to see at what point he struggles in one or both areas and how he adapts from there. No one can doubt the talent. He can throw the ball 99 and hit it 115.
April 9, 20187 yr 9 minutes ago, HenryJames said: Dude's definitely off to a Pearl Harbor type start. Dude, that comment was a sneak attack. Edited April 9, 20187 yr by TrashMaster G
April 9, 20187 yr 6 minutes ago, bschoolprof said: I'm a fan Seems a really likable kid, too. Which always helps.
April 9, 20187 yr Been curious, since I am not playing fantasy baseball this year, how are the leagues handling him? Can you slot him as a hitter and pitcher in your lineup for those weekly leagues? Do you get credit for all of his actions? Was thinking in points leagues, he potentially could be far and away the number one player if getting credit for both hitting and pitching. He has been a joy to watch for sure. His success we come down to his ability to adjust after the league adjusts. Edited April 9, 20187 yr by pacman
April 9, 20187 yr unless he's a .330+ or 30+ homer type (which i don't think he is), he should just pitch. there are plenty of guys who can go .270 / 21hr / 72rbi. not many people can do what he can do on the mound. that said, there have been other japanese pitchers who have been impressive out of the gate only to settle down afterwards. regardless, it's good for the sport, and i look forward to heading south to watch angels-stros this summer with him on the mound.
April 9, 20187 yr 13 hours ago, Firemans4Horn said: Doing some Babe Ruth type stuff to start the season. Such as?
April 9, 20187 yr 34 minutes ago, pacman said: Been curious, since I am not playing fantasy baseball this year, how are the leagues handling him? Can you slot him as a hitter and pitcher in your lineup for those weekly leagues? Do you get credit for all of his actions? Was thinking in points leagues, he potentially could be far and away the number one player if getting credit for both hitting and pitching. He has been a joy to watch for sure. His success we come down to his ability to adjust after the league adjusts. You have to pick to use him as a hitter or a pitcher each week and only get hitting or pitching stats. He’s currently the #1 pitcher in my league
April 9, 20187 yr I just don't see why it's impossible to play six days a week as a pitcher / DH. It's not like he's a linebacker / running back or something. The physical demands are not superhuman.
April 9, 20187 yr 28 minutes ago, The Golden Hat said: Such as? 1.300 OPS and 2-0 with 2ERA and 17ks in 13 innings isn’t bad...
April 9, 20187 yr Author 28 minutes ago, The Golden Hat said: Such as? Ohtani, Ruth, and a guy named Ken Brett are the only players in MLB history to hit a homer in 3 straight games and have an outing with double digit strikeouts in the same season. Second pitcher since 1971 to have a 12 strikeout game with one or fewer walks/hits in their first or second MLB start. Leading MLB in hard hit ball percentage (71.4%).
April 9, 20187 yr Safe to say I’m a big fan. Love watching the guy pitch. And his swing looks great, too. He’s like an Asian Brooks Kieschnick. Hell, he might even be an All Star this year!
April 9, 20187 yr 4 hours ago, Gut Wagon said: Freakish to have such talents to hit and pitch, as to me they’ve always seemed largely unrelated. I get the whole eye-hand coordination thing, but few other top hitters or pitchers seem to have had both skill sets. Curious to see at what point he struggles in one or both areas and how he adapts from there. No one can doubt the talent. In high school, the best pitcher and best hitter are often the same guy. In college, or the minors, they abandon one or the other. They are definitely different skill sets when it comes to refining them, but both require excellent hand-eye coordination. I imagine there are a lot of outfielders and 3rd basemen who have the velocity to pitch if they worked on control. I bet Bregman could pitch right now given how he can pinpoint throws to home and first. Edited April 9, 20187 yr by FondrenRoad
April 9, 20187 yr Yeah, the best pitcher I ever played with also was the best hitter. Power and average. I just never could get my head around how the same guy could do both at such a high level. He wasn’t close to the best athlete in our high school, based on the usual metrics. He was just a phenomenal pitcher and hitter. Oh, and a tremendous infielder who almost never misplayed a grounder. Basically just a baseball guy through and through. Edited April 9, 20187 yr by Gut Wagon
April 9, 20187 yr I do want to see how he handles a more potent offense. His first two starts have been very impressive but the A’s don’t provide a great litmus test.
April 10, 20187 yr If you're not excited about this kid then you don't like baseball. Gotta love a guy who's good enough to go both ways. Spring training was rough on him perhaps he was just holding back getting a lay of the land. Not an angels fan but definitely will be following his progress.
April 11, 20187 yr On 4/9/2018 at 10:22 AM, Firemans4Horn said: Ohtani, Ruth, and a guy named Ken Brett are the only players in MLB history to hit a homer in 3 straight games and have an outing with double digit strikeouts in the same season. Second pitcher since 1971 to have a 12 strikeout game with one or fewer walks/hits in their first or second MLB start. Leading MLB in hard hit ball percentage (71.4%). Ken Brett also played for the Angels. George Brett's brother.
April 11, 20187 yr He will also get a bunch of starts and at bats against the rangers and a’s. That should pass the stats of any pitcher or hitter.
April 12, 20187 yr 6 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said: He will also get a bunch of starts and at bats against the rangers and a’s. That should pass the stats of any pitcher or hitter. Yeah, but he'll also get a bunch of starts and ABs against the best team in baseball. Seattle's pretty good, too. He'll be tested.
April 12, 20187 yr This is a good read on some other players he could be compared to: https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/shohei-ohtani-the-babe-and-the-bullet/
April 13, 20187 yr that was off a nice pitch, too. I think the stuff about pitching him inside has been oversold. If anything, given his proclivity (so far) to chase and hit groundballs, I would be pitching him low and away so he can't get anything in the air.
April 13, 20187 yr 11 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said: That Royals Fan's reaction. https://giant.gfycat.com/DecentSeriousBobolink.webm
April 13, 20187 yr I'm a Royals fan and due to my induction into the Ohtani cult I am rooting for him to wreck us this weekend. We suck anyway so whatever.
April 13, 20187 yr 13 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said: This clip doesn't really show it, but his stride around the bases reminds me eerily of...well, I'll let you guys figure that out. Different sport but it's almost like he was going for 80 yards against OSU. Sacrilege, I know. Of course his stats will level out over 162 games or however many he ends up playing, but still really fun to watch right now.
April 18, 20187 yr Mookie just hit a bomb to lead off the game. Ohtani missing his spots badly so far.
April 18, 20187 yr Didn't come out for the third. 2 innings, 66 pitches. Luke Bard started the third and poured the gas on the fire. He looked a lot like he did for the first few innings of his first start, with the biggest difference being that he was facing a much better hitting team that was much more patient than Oakland was. Just like that game, he had no idea where his splitter was going. His stuff is still filthy, though. Edited April 18, 20187 yr by Beau Vine
April 25, 20187 yr looks much better as a hitter than a pitcher. we'll see what they do with him if his era keeps climbing like it has been.
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