Shohei Ohtani showed off his incredible two-way ability in the Los Angeles Angels’ spring training game against the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Ohtani was both the Angels’ starting pitcher and leadoff hitter.
Shohei Ohtani is leading off and is the starting pitcher for the Angels in their Spring Training game against the Padres.
The last player to do that in a regular season game was Giants pitcher Jim Jones on 9/30/1901, going 0-for-4 and allowing 6 ER against the Cardinals.
— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) March 21, 2021
On the mound, the right-hander allowed one run, two hits, and two walks over five innings, while showing off filthy stuff. Ohtani even hit 101.9 mph on the radar gun.
And at the plate, the left-handed batter went 2-for-2 with a walk- very well done as a leadoff hitter, especially against a star left-hander in Padres pitcher Blake Snell.
Ohtani stays hot
and rips a single to left center swinging so hard his helmet came off! Oh yeah, and he's pitching today…@Angels | #AngelsST pic.twitter.com/LhraxxSYRw — Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) March 21, 2021
Ohtani has been fantastic as a hitter this spring, going 14-for-22 (.636) with four homers. He even hit a 468-foot dinger against 2020 AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber that cleared the batter’s eye.
Ohtani only pitched in two games during the 2020 season due to a flexor strain, and didn’t pitch at all in 2019 after having Tommy John surgery. Baseball is MUCH better when Ohtani is able to show off his remarkable, unparalleled two-way talents.
Blake Snell on Shohei Ohtani: "The dude’s a freak. He throws 100, he can swing it, he’s good at going the other way. He’s just all around a great player on both ends, which is insanely hard to do."
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) March 21, 2021
Let’s hope Ohtani can stay healthy for the 2021 season.