Ohtani’s exciting, but he has to stay healthy to achieve greatness
Babe Ruth hit 714 homers in his career and compiled a lifetime batting average of .342 and an on-base percentage of .474. He also managed to win 94 games as a pitcher and compile a 2.28 lifetime earned run average over 1,221 1/3 innings.
I don’t think I’d be going too far out on a limb if I were to suggest that Babe Ruth was probably a pretty good ball player.
Neither do I think I’d be going too far out a limb if I were to suggest that it seems silly to compare a 23-year-old who has never played an inning of major league baseball to Babe Ruth. Yet, that’s exactly what some writers did over the winter when they insisted on referring to Shohei Ohtani as “The Babe Ruth of Japan.”
I agree that Ohtani looked like someone who could become a very special player. He still does. But that doesn’t make him Babe Ruth.
The only reason he’s being compared to the Babe is that in Japan he was able to perform at an all-star level both as a pitcher and as a batter. He’s now attempting to do the same thing as a major leaguer — specifically as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
He’s trying to do them simultaneously. Even Ruth didn’t do that — at least not for most of his career.
Ruth was strictly a pitcher (and pinch hitter) in his first three full seasons with the Boston Red Sox. Only in his fourth and fifth seasons (1918 and 1919) did he play the field on days he didn’t pitch and the Red Sox reduced his pitching load during those seasons. After that they sold him to the New York Yankees who made him a full-time outfielder. He spent 15 seasons with the Yankees and pitched only five times.
In short, it’s been 99 years since anyone has been successful doing what Ohtani is attempting to do this season. In his quest he has one big advantage that Ruth never dreamed of — the designated hitter rule. During the 1918 and 1919 seasons Ruth played the outfield or first base on the days he didn’t pitch. There was no rule that allowed a player to simply bat.
There is now, at least in the American League, and the Angels intend to utilize it in Ohtani’s case. So did his Japanese team, the Nippon Ham Fighters. In his first two seasons with the Fighters Ohtani played some games in the outfield, but as he matured he became a right-handed pitcher and a left-handed DH. Period. Typically he pitched one day a week (that’s standard in Japan) and rested the day before and the day after he pitched.
Early in spring training Angels manager Mike Scioscia announced that Ohtani would follow a similar routine on his club. He laid out a plan in which Ohtani would pitch on Sunday and DH Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That would permit him to rest two days before he pitched and one day afterwards.
That meant altering the roles of several other players in order to accommodate Ohtani. Scioscia said the Angels would use a six-man pitching rotation. He also decided that 38-year-old Albert Pujols, the incumbent designated hitter, would have to play first base the days that Ohtani was in the lineup as the DH. Last year’s first baseman, C.J. Crone, was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later.
In making all those moves the Angels were gambling and not everybody thought it was a good idea — especially some of the scouts who watched Ohtani appear to struggle through spring training. One scout even suggested that the new Japanese import belonged in Class A.
Scioscia was unfazed and was immediately rewarded when the season began. In mid-April Ohtani owned a .367 batting average with three homers. He was 2-0 on the mound and that included one gem in which he struck out 12 and allowed only one hit over seven innings. The Angels were 13-3 and riding high.
What could possibly go wrong?
Oops.
Ohtani took the mound against the Red Sox on April 17 and lasted only two innings before a blister forced him from the game. A week later (he had become a Tuesday starter instead of working on Sundays) he struggled with his control against the Astros and got no decision in a game the Angels eventually won. He hasn’t pitched since, primarily because he suffered an ankle sprain three days later in a game against the Yankees. That injury kept him on the bench for two games. He returned to action as DH on Tuesday and had one hit (a double) in four at bats.
Ohtani, thus, participated in 17 of his team’s first 29 games. His offensive output (.333 batting average and .667 slugging percentage) isn’t quite Ruthian but it is sparkling. His pitching numbers (2-1 with a 4.43 earned run average) are not so eye-catching.
Yes, it’s still very early and these are only a small sample. But one fact jumps out at me. During his five-year Japanese career he played 100-plus games in a season only once. Now he’s come to North America and after the first month he’s already been limited by two relatively minor injuries.
I wonder if Ohtani, or anyone else, can undertake a dual role and remain healthy.
Remember this: If Ohtani gets hurt the Angels lose both a pitcher and a hitter.
The lead the American League in unearned runs allowed — 18. They have been guilty of 25 errors and four passed balls…The Nationals are 6-1 on days when
has pitched. Their record is 8-15 the rest of the time…Last Tuesday night
of the Cardinals threw a pitch to of the White Sox that was clocked at 102 miles per hour. During the same at bat he threw another clocked at 101.9. According to Statcast, those are the two hardest pitches thrown this season. Anderson, however, drew a walk…The Astros’ is batting .462 in road games. At home his average is .185…Cubs batters have been hit by pitches 24 times, which is seven more than any other team… The are 1-8 in one-run games…The
are 19-5 against right-handed starters. They’re 2-3 when facing lefties…The have challenged only four rulings all season. They’ve been denied every time…The five AL Central teams have amassed a 26-51 record in games outside their division.
Max Scherzer Jordan Hicks Tim Anderson Carlos Correa Reds Sox Yankees Red Brewers
Hall of Fame voter Jay Dunn has written baseball for The Trentonian for 50 years. Contact him at jaydunn8@ aol.com