Shohei Ohtani is the epitome of baseball excellence. The Los Angeles Angels star is unique in the sense that he's the only two-way player in the league today. One day, he'll be pitching strikeouts like it's nothing. The next day, he'll be bombing away homers as the designated hitter of the team.
His ability to pitch AND hit at a high-level has drawn comparison to a former legend of the game. On Saturday night, Shohei Ohtani inched closer to Babe Ruth's legacy, as the Angels star hit his 100th home run. The Japanese phenom became the second person in league history to hit 100 HRs and strike out 250 batters. Wow. (via ESPN Stats and Info)
Shohei Ohtani is the 2nd player in MLB history with at least 100 HR as a batter and 250 K as a pitcher, joining Babe Ruth.
Ohtani joins Hideki Matsui and Ichiro Suzuki as the only players born in Japan to reach 100 MLB home runs. pic.twitter.com/dlfU8B3a90
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 15, 2022
Ohtani's two-way brilliance has been teased multiple times over the years. After years of waiting, the Angels star was able to put it together last season. His high-level pitching and hitting earned him the unanimous AL MVP award in 2021. Now, Ohtani is proving he's here to stay in the league.
Last season, Ohtani's heroics wasn't enough to carry the Angels to the post-season. This year, though, Ohtani has ample backup beside him. Noah Syndergaard has been a revelation for the team in the pitching department. On the other side, Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon headline the team's hitting core. They seemed primed to make it back to the playoffs this year.
Can they maintain this epic form throughout the year? All they need is to hold off the Phillies and the Braves, and they'll be playing in the playoffs before you even know it.
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