If you haven’t heard, we’re in the midst of an MLB season like no other. Shohei Ohtani is having an absolutely bonkers season this year.
Shohei Ohtani is chasing down history in the most efficient way possible ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/HZACnggzrg
— MLB (@MLB) September 18, 2024
If you don’t know who Shohei Ohtani is, well then I must ask if you have been living underneath a rock. Ohtani is the best baseball player in the world right now, and it’s not even slightly close. He is only two stolen bases and two home runs away from having fifty of each stat, which is something we have only seen twice before in the MLB. This season would add to his already stacked resume. What’s crazy about Ohtani is that he is arguably one of the best starting pitchers and best hitters in the league, and yes that is very abnormal.
His MLB rookie debut was in 2018, where he would go on to win American League Rookie of the Year. He started 10 games, won 6 and lost 4 and had a whopping 63 strikeouts. On top of his pitching stats, his batting was also unreal. He scored 93 runs, hit 22 home runs, and a batting average of .285. This kind of talent is unheard of and you better believe that he just kept getting better and better. Three years later he won his first MVP, having a .257 batting average, 46 home runs and 100 runs batted in. Two years after that he won his second MVP, and after playing for the Los Angeles Angels for six seasons, he finally signed for the LA Dodgers in a big money move to try and win a World Series.
Shohei also led Japan to their third World Baseball Classic in 2023, where he struck out former teammate Mike Trout in the final inning to beat team USA 3-2. Ohtani also took home the MVP for the tournament, adding onto his already impressive MLB season. So what makes this season so much different?
Unfortunately he underwent tommy john surgery, which is a pretty significant elbow surgery that didn’t allow him to pitch for the Dodgers this year. However, that didn’t stop him from being a monster at the plate as a designated hitter. So far he’s played 148 games, and he is hitting career highs in almost every batting stat that’s recorded. No one has quite seen a season this good in a long time.
48/48 FOR SHOHEI OHTANI! pic.twitter.com/9QIF4jVwnt
— MLB (@MLB) September 17, 2024
So what do you think? Will Ohtani join the exclusive 50-50 group? Or will he fall just short? There’s only eleven games left so time is running out, but if anyone can do it I’d put my money on Shohei Ohtani.