Shohei Ohtani's 8 RBI and 13 strikeout nights within 24 hours reaffirm Angels s grey atlanta braves jersey tar's place in baseball history
June 23, 2022
Even with the Angels' struggles, Shohei Ohtani has continued to be the most intriguing athlete in baseball.
In early June, Sporting News' Ryan Fagan wrote on Ohtani's AL MVP chances in spite of a sChristian Yelichlow start — by his standards. Ohtani, Fagan submitted, is so utterly unique as a player his impact cannot be discounted in any conversation about "value."
Ohtani showcased t atlanta braves jersey jones hat impact on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday night he had a career-best eight-RBI game against the Royal atlanta braves jersey men s, including a game-tying home run in the ninth inning of a 12-11 Angels loss. I atlanta braves jersey dress t was the first time in MLB history a player had eight RBI and never had his team lead.
On Wednesday, Ohtani took the mound and took matters into his own hands. He had a career-high 13 strikeouts anMLB Trading Cardsd threw eight shutout innings for the Angels, while drawing a pair of walks at the plate in a 5-0 win.
To boil it down to one simple stat: On Tuesday, Ohtani hit a ball with a 113.5 mph exit velocity. On Wednesday, he threw a pitch 99.9 mph.
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Ohtani is the first player in MLB history to strike out 10-plus batters a game after driving in eight or more, and he turned in his 13-strikeout performance with 71 strikes on 108 pitches.
Even in what some would consider a "down" year, Ohtani is still doing things no one in the sport has done. He posted an fWAR of 1.0 in the last two games alone — 0.4 as a hitter and 0.6 as a pitcher. He also had yet another first, becoming the first player in MLB history to have an eight-RBI and 13-strikeout game in his career. As arbitrary as these numbers are, they add up to a player who makes a unique contribution to his team.
Ohtani's expected numbers don't reflect his relatively pedestrian hitting line. He's hitti atlanta braves jersey vintage ng .260 with an OPS of .822. However, he's in the 92nd percentile of xwOBA (expected weighted on-base average) and the 97th percentile of xSLG (expected slugging). That is to say, OhtDooney & Bourke ani is hitting the ball absurdly hard.
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As a pitcher, he's worked his ERAMLB Collectibles under 3.00 this season (2.90 after Wednesday) and is turning in consistently good starts. While the two-way superstar isn't playing up to his 2021 level, he's certainly trending in that direction.
The Yankees' Aaron Judge is still looking like the odds-on favorite to win MVP, and he de atlanta braves jersey res serves that consideration. But Ohtani is picking up the pace behind him.
The Angels are now 34-38, third in the AL West behind the Astros and Rangers. Ohtani has posted a 6-4 record as a starter, and he has wins in his last three starts. As the Angels look to turn their season around without Anthony Rendon, Ohtani will have to continue to play like the star he is. On a team full of inconsistencies, he has to be a constant.