Ohtani scratch nags at league itching for stars
EVEN Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton would agree, I think, with this hot take on the Angels scratching Shohei Ohtani from his Yankee Stadium mound debut:
Good for the Yankees, bad for baseball.
That’s because Judge and Stanton, the Yankees’ two most transcendent players when it comes to star power, get it. They know the future of their game rests significantly on the viability of larger-than-life figures like themselves. They root for the rookie pitcher/designated hitter Ohtani, his Angels megastar teammate Mike Trout and the handful of other players who carry that electricity … except when they’re playing the Yankees, like this weekend in The Bronx.
“To see someone like that come in this game at such a young age and be able to do both at the majors — this isn’t the minor league level or college; this is the top of the line — and he’s going above and beyond,” Judge told The Post earlier this week of Ohtani.
“I’m excited. It’s fun to watch. I remember in spring training, I talked to Kole Calhoun, their right fielder. And I was like, ‘Is this Ohtani guy the real deal?’ And he was like, ‘ Man, I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s professional. His approach at the plate, how he swings, being able to throw 100 [mph], his command, [to] work his off-speed pitches — that doesn’t come around every so often.’ [Ohtani], Trout, all those guys, it’s fun to watch them and be around them.”
Alas, Judge and the Yankees will face Ohtani only as a hitter this time, just as occurred when the Yankees visited Anaheim in late April. The Angels announced Thursday the right-hander (and lefty batter) wouldn’t stay on turn and pitch Sunday. Manager Mike Scioscia, citing Ohtani’s unique responsibilities as a nearregular in the team’s lineup and starting rotation, attributed the decision to “workload management.”
That put the kibosh on a matchup of Ohtani against his Japanese countryman Masahiro Tanaka, depriving the Far East of a galactic international baseball event. As Stanton told The Post of Ohtani’s success vis a vis Japanese fans: “It gives them something to look forward to. It gives them more global awareness.”
The battles of Ohtani vs. Judge, vs. Stanton, vs. his American League Rookie of the Year challenger, Gleyber Torres, and so on will have to wait until either October or next year.
Nevertheless, the Angels’ visit won’t be a complete wash for Ohtani enthusiasts. The 23-yearold figures to start at DH in least two of the three games against the Yankees and get his first shot at the Stadium’s inviting rightfield porch. Interestingly, only one of Ohtani’s six homers (in 94 at-bats) has been pulled to right, as per Baseball-Reference.com, and that came April 27 at Angel Stadium against Yankees ace Luis Severino, who will start Friday night’s series opener.
And as Ohtani hits, you can contemplate how hard it is to go up against major league pitching and prepare for your own pitching responsibilities.
“It’s like all of us in Little League, man,” Stanton said. “All of the way up until high school.”
While the Yankees have been drawing just fine at home, leading the AL in attendance per game, common sense says they’ll sell a few more seats to people interested in seeing Ohtani.
“It’s amazing,” Judge said. “When you have young guys coming up — even those guys with the Braves right now, the Phillies have got a young team, all of those guys — it’s great for the game. Especially the new generation of young fans that is watching the game. Now they’ve got young people to attach themselves to.
“You’ve got [Ronald] Acuna and Ozzie Albies. If you’re a Braves fan, you’re go- ing to be watching those guys for 15, 20 years. Especially here, when you’ve got Gleyber and [Miguel] Andujar, you’re going to be watching those guys for years. It’s great for the game.”
“He can do good versus everyone but us,” Stanton punctuated.
However, the only real loser this holiday weekend, with Ohtani showcasing only half of his platform, is the sport itself.