Matt Chapman asked the question many baseball scouts, analysts and fans have been wondering all season.
Why would anyone pitch to Shohei Ohtani?
The Los Angeles Angels superhero hit yet another home run Friday, his 39th of the season, against the Toronto Blue Jays. It was, like all of Ohtani’s home runs, a thing of beauty.
Shohei Ohtani crushes home run No. 39 on the season!
pic.twitter.com/iPOQMXZbA0 — The Comeback (@thecomeback) July 28, 2023
Ohtani’s first inning solo shot off Toronto ace Kevin Gausman did not sit well with Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman, who shared an NSFW scouting report on Ohtani with manager John Schneider when he returned to the dugout.
“Why did we pitch to him? He’s the only ******* guy on the team that can hit,” Chapman was seen saying to Schneider
It didn’t help matters that Ohtani hit his blast on a 93 mph center-cut fastball.
Chapman channeled that anger into his next plate appearance, crushing his 14th home run of the season.
While some fans thought Chapman showed disrespect to his manager, most agreed with him, albeit in much cleaner language: Pitch to Ohtani at your own risk.