Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani put together an absolutely absurd 2021 MLB season that resulted in him winning the AL MVP (and in unanimous fashion).
At the plate, Ohtani blasted 46 home runs (and an AL-high eight triples) and had a .965 OPS. He was valued at 4.9 wins above replacement (WAR) as a position player, according to Baseball Reference. On the mound, the fireballing right-hander put together a 3.18 ERA over 130 1/3 innings pitched. He was valued at 4.1 WAR as a pitcher. Summarized: he was elite as both a batter and a pitcher, and that adds up to an insanely valuable player.
It’s hard to imagine a player being better than this, but Ohtani says “there’s room for improvement.” He also claims to physically be “a lot stronger than last year” in Angels camp this spring.
Here’s more from Ohtani, via Greg Beacham of the Associated Press:
“I feel like I can’t be doing the same thing as last year, to have the same stats as last year,” Ohtani said Tuesday through his interpreter at the Angels’ spring training complex. “I need to get better and keep on improving, so that’s the plan.”
“Obviously, skills-wise, there’s room for improvement,” Ohtani said. “But physically, I already feel a lot stronger than last year, so I think we’re on a good start.”
That’s a scary, scary thought for everybody else in MLB- and especially teams in the AL West.
It would also be huge for the Angels, who last went to the postseason in 2014 (despite having the Al MVP three times since; Mike Trout won the award twice). FanGraphs currently projects the Angels for 82 wins (second in the AL West), with 36.7% playoff odds.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.