"Doesn't it look easy?" Why is Mi surprised by Ohtani...The challenge itself is a miracle
"Doesn't it look easy?" Why is Mi surprised by Ohtani...The challenge itself is a miracle
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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chris Taylor said this while watching his teammate Shohei Ohtani play. Ohtani has been devastating the U.S. Major League Baseball throughout this season. He is writing a page in history every time he plays in a game. Ohtani has already hit 54 home runs and 57 steals, becoming the first player in Major League history to hit 50 home runs and 50 steals. Even though some hitters have hit 50 home runs and 50 steals at the same time, it has been considered ridiculous to Ohtani, a "unicorn" player. Ohtani has only one home run left until his first 55 home runs and 55 steals.
However, the U.S. media's attention is currently watching closely whether he will achieve three hits in the National League, rather than whether he will achieve 55 homers and 55 steals. This is because it doesn't make sense from the process of becoming qualified to challenge for the third time in hitting. Ohtani has been producing hits even crazier since he solved the task of achieving 50-50 by recording 51 homers and 51 steals while performing 6 hits in 6 at-bats (three homers) with 10 RBIs and 2 steals in an away game against the Miami Marlins on the 19th (Korea time). He had a batting average of 0.287 for the season before the game on the 19th, but he raised his batting average for the season to 0.309 by making an incredible 24 hits (0.686 batting average) in 35 at-bats in the last 8 games.메이저놀이터
Ohtani also started as the first designated hitter in an away game against the Colorado Rockies on Friday, and led the Colorado Rockies to a landslide 11-4 victory by making four hits (one homer) and four RBIs in five times at bat. He lacked a triple in the hit-forder cycle, and maintained his lead in the National League in two categories by achieving 54 home runs and 130 RBIs. As of Friday, he far surpassed second-ranked Marcell Osuna (Atlanta, 39 home runs) in the home run category, and is also far behind second-ranked Willy Adames (Miladelphia, 111 RBIs) in the RBI category.
The three-time batting champion should rank No. 1 in batting average, home run and RBI. Ohtani is currently ranking second in the National League in batting average. No. 1 is Luis Araes, a San Diego Padres who represents the big league. Araes had three hits from five times at bat in an away game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday, raising his batting average for this season from 0.312 to 0.314. Ohtani narrowed the gap with Araes by five runs from seven runs to five, but it is still a question mark whether he will be able to upset due to Araes' toughness.
The last three hits in the National League was Joe Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1937. Ohtani hopes to continue his career as a three-time batting champion for the first time in 87 years since Medwick. There have been a total of 12 cases in the history of Major League Baseball where he has won three hits, and 10 players were honored. The Major League has tallied three hits since 1920 when the RBI was recognized as an official record. The last three hits in both leagues were Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers in 2012. There has been no player who achieved triple crown in 12 years since Cabrera.
The Dodgers and the San Diego Padres have two more games left each during the regular season. As the Dodgers have won the National League West title and the San Diego Padres have secured advancement to the wild card, there is no reason to forcefully deploy key players. Still, Ohtani said he plans to play in all of the remaining games of the regular season to challenge for 55 homers and 55 steals, and to win the title of three hits. Another way for Araes to manage his batting average is to take a break in the remaining two games, and since he has only one hit left to achieve 200 hits for the second consecutive year, he is strongly determined to play.
"I think we'll have to wait and see how the coach talks. I'm ready to play in both the 29th and the last game. I'm here to play baseball," Araes said.
San Diego manager Mike Shildt said, "I understand well that the A.R.A.S. wants to play through. He will want to set that record (200 hits) and add more. He's a fighter and a competitor, but we'll have to see if he's in good shape and ready for the postseason in good health."
The Athletic, a U.S. media outlet, said, "Aras has missed this season due to ligament damage in his left thumb, so if he avoids the challenge of 200 hits and takes a break in the remaining two games, a new opportunity may come to Ohtani."
The Major League website MLB.com calculated the number of cases in which Ohtani can regain the top batting average. MLB.com examined the number of cases in which Ohtani and Araes both played in one more game (based on five times at bat) and both played in two games (based on nine times at bat).
According to MLB.com , if both of them play one more game, Ohtani has to hit four hits in five at-bats to record a batting average of 0.3133. At this time, Ohtani will be the batting champion only when Araes hits one hit in five at-bats (final batting average of 0.3129). If Ohtani hits three hits in five at-bats, he will finish the season with a batting average of 0.3117, and Araes will fall below 0.3114 and fall to second place when he has no hits in five at-bats.
There are three cases in which both players play in both games. If Ohtani has six hits in nine at-bats (final batting average of 0.3145), Araes will have to hit less than three hits in nine at-bats to finish second with a batting average of 0.3141 or less. If Ohtani has five hits in nine at-bats, his final batting average will be 0.3129. At this time, Araes must have two hits or less in nine at-bats to fall below 0.3125 and fall to second place. If Ohtani has four hits in nine at-bats, he will have a batting average of 0.3113, and when he has one hit or more in nine at-bats, his batting average will fall below 0.3110.
Ohtani has already broken numerous records this year. He stole 50–50 and 57th base, breaking the record of 56 steals by a Japanese pitcher who played for the Seattle Mariners in 2001 for the first time in 23 years.