There is no end to the praise of the American media for Shohei Ohtani (29), a Japanese pitcher and hitter of the Los Angeles Angels. It has been argued that Ohtani is performing outstandingly incomparably with Major League ‘Legend’ Babe Ruth (1895-1948).
American sports channel ESPN recently quoted reporter Jeff Passan on its SNS (social networking service) and said, “Let’s be clear: Babe Ruth has never done as well as Ohtani now.”
Ruth was a major league home run hitter and pitcher. During his 10 seasons as a pitcher in the major leagues, he recorded an outstanding record of 94 wins, 46 losses, and an ERA of 2.28.
The batter’s record is better. Ruth was a slugger who hit 714 career home runs in 22 seasons as a hitter from 1914 to 1935. The record for the most home runs in major league history is also ranked third after Barry Bonds (762) and Hank Aaron (755).
Some say Ruth, who hit 714 homers in an era without drugs and less than 162 games a season now, is the best slugger. Whatever the reason, Ruth is a major league legend and pride. However, even Ruth’s status, which has been going on for about 100 years, is gradually shaken by Ohtani’s performance.
Ohtani, who dominated Japanese professional baseball and advanced to the major leagues in 2018, is having the best year of the season. In particular, last June was literally ‘crazy mode’.
Hitter Ohtani appeared in 27 games during this period and posted outstanding results with a batting average of 0.394, 15 homers and 29 RBIs. The combined OPS of on-base percentage and slugging percentage was 1.444.안전놀이터
Pitcher Ohtani’s performance is also not pushed back. He went 2-2 with a 3.26 ERA in 5 starts in June. He allowed only 11 walks and struck out 37. The batting average is also low at 0.228. It means that it is not so easy for opponent batters to attack Ohtani.
Because of this performance shown on both sides of the pitching, in the United States, ‘Ohtani is the Major League MVP (Most Valuable Player)’ in unison. At the end of this season, the amount of his ransom, which becomes a free agent (FA), is even discussed at an unimaginable amount.
After asking, “Did Ohtani have the best month in major league history?” reporter Bankan asked, “It’s not easy to draw definitive conclusions about such a simple question. “Because comparing them obfuscates the discussion itself.”
“These controversies are, in the end, just an excuse to admire Ohtani’s tremendous results as a designated hitter and starting pitcher during the month of June,” he admitted frankly.
During the first half of this season, Ohtani led the major leagues in home runs (32), slugging percentage (0.663), and OPS (1.050). Even as a pitcher, he has 7 wins and 4 losses, an earned run average of 3.32, and a batting average (0.189) that is the lowest in the major leagues.
He is writing a new history in the major leagues, producing results that even the ‘legend’ Ruth, whom Americans loved the most, could not achieve.