Anyone who's followed the MLB over the last few years knows that Shohei Ohtani is a one-of-a-kind commodity, the type that only comes around once a generation. Within his first six games as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani has already set a new team record.
Ohtani smashed a double on Sunday Night Baseball that traveled 115.8 miles-per-hour off the bat, a team record for a base his in the StatCast era. StatCast, an automated tool used to track advanced stats and metrics, was implemented into the league in 2015. How does this hit compare to other rockets off the bat since then?
Ohtani has etched his name in Dodgers history
Ohtani's double is the second-hardest hit ball in Dodgers history since the inception of StatCast. The hardest was Yasiel Puig's 116 mile-per-hour groundout on April 4th, 2017, via Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
“Exit velocity,” the formal term for the speed of a ball off the bat, is one of the biggest points of emphasis for hitters in the modern era. The higher the velocity, the more difficult it is for defenses to field the ball.
Examining the hardest hit balls since 2015, it's no coincidence that the list is littered with some of the best players in the MLB, via Baseball Savant. The record holder is Pittsburgh Pirates star Oneil Cruz, who smashed a 122.4 mile-per-hour single off the outfield wall in 2022. Ronald Acuna Jr., Elly De La Cruz and Aaron Judge are some of the other exit velocity leaders in recent years.
In fact, Ohtani's double wasn't even the hardest hit of his career. On April 10th, 2022, “Shotime” cracked a 119.1 mile-per-hour ground rule double as a member of the Los Angeles Angels. Therefore, the Japanese international holds the exit velocity record for two different ball clubs.
Even with his inability to pitch in 2024 due to recovery from Tommy John surgery, Ohtani is still easily one of the most impactful players in the league. The slugger has been praised by numerous opposing players around the league, even being named the MLB's top dog by Acuna himself.
The two-time AL MVP is hitting .269, with two RBIs and a stolen base. He'll continue his quest for his first Dodgers home run when the team plays the San Francisco Giants on Monday.
Ohtani is in his first year of a 10-year deal he signed with Los Angeles this past offseason. The star-studded roster featuring him, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and fellow Japanese newcomer Yoshinobu Yamamoto are expected to help the Dodgers win their first championship since the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
While it's still early, signs are promising that Ohtani will continue his reign of terror on the MLB, albeit exclusively from the batter's box for the time being. Once he's able to take the mound again and form a one-two punch with Yamamoto in the rotation, the Dodgers may become a regular championship favorite for years to come.
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