There is a rare challenge in the baseball world. If the pitcher is as good as the hitter, who should be awarded the MVP? This is especially true for short-term battles with a small sample size. Shohei Ohtani (29, LA Angels) solved this problem simply by doing both.
Tom Tango, one of the top authorities in the field of baseball sabermetrics, posted on his SNS immediately after the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) ended on the 22nd (Korean time), “Who should receive the WBC MVP?” along with the question of players S and O. record was introduced.
Player S, who is presumed to be a hitter,메이저놀이터 recorded a batting average of 0.435, on-base percentage of 0.606, and slugging percentage of 0.739, including 4 doubles and 1 home run. Player O, presumed to be a pitcher, recorded an ERA of 1.86 while striking out 11 in 9⅔ innings.
There were a total of four bogeys: Player S, Player O, too hard to choose – both, and I was wrong for missing the WBC. In this poll, in which nearly 1,000 people participated, 62% of the astute people chose ‘both’. This is because all records of players S and O were written by Ohtani at the WBC. The S and O are also the first two letters of Ohtani Shohei’s first name and last name. When a fan commented that “both records were written by the same person,” Tango jokingly replied, “That’s impossible.”
Such an unbelievable record was achieved by Ohtani alone. It started with Japan’s first WBC match against China. Ohtani, who took the mound as the third batter and starting pitcher, took the victory with 2 hits in 4 at-bats, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, and 1 hit, 1 hit, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts and no runs on the mound in 4 innings. It struggled a bit against dark horse Italy, which we met in the quarterfinals. He went 4 at-bats, 1 hit, 2 runs and 1 walk. On the mound, he scored 4 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts and 2 runs on the mound, but he did not lose his lead until the end and recorded his 2nd win.
The start that was originally promised was up to this point. However, ahead of the final against the United States, he expressed his strong will to participate. He went 1 hit and 1 walk in 3 at-bats as the designated hitter three times, but after the fifth inning, he went back and forth between the bullpen and the dugout to prepare for an unexpected finish. And in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Japan led 3-2, Ohtani took the mound against Jeff McNeil (New York Mets), last year’s National League batting champion, and American League MVP Mookie Betts (LA Dodgers) and Mike Trout (LA Angels). He caught a walker with a double stroke, made two outs in a flash, and struck out Trout with a miss swing to save and clinch Japan’s third championship in his own hands.
Naturally, it went back to Ohtani, who opened and closed the WBC. He was also named to the 2023 All-Star Team as a starting pitcher and designated hitter respectively. Tango’s tribute to Ohtani continued.
“Those who think Ohtani should have chosen either pitcher or hitter before reaching the major leagues should watch the ninth WBC Finals on repeat as punishment,” Tango said. “Those who thought he should have done both should be rewarded.” I recommend watching the 9th episode.”
He added, “The Major League Secretariat should have divided pitcher slots into two starters and one bullpen when selecting the WBC All-Star team. If that was the case, Ohtani would have been listed as three players on the All-Star team.”