Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani is enjoying an incredible season.
He is slashing .266/.344/.481 with five homers, 13 runs, 13 RBI and a .825 OPS.
Those offensive numbers are somewhat low if we consider his lofty standards, which is amazing if we realize that most players would love to have those.
On the mound, he has been better than ever, with a 0.64 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP.
But back to the offensive facet of his game.
Ohtani won the 2021 AL MVP and was runner-up in 2022.
He is mostly known for his power, as he hit 80 homers between 2021 and 2022.
His speed, however, is an underrated aspect of his game.
It’s also a game-changer, much like his power, on-base ability, and pitching skills.
“Should a guy with 85 home runs and 413 pitching strikeouts since the start of the 2021 season also be able to get from home to first in barely 4 seconds like this? Unreal,” Codify Baseball tweeted, with a video of Ohtani running full-speed from home to first.
Should a guy with 85 home runs and 413 pitching strikeouts since the start of the 2021 season also be able to get from home to first in barely 4 seconds like this? Unreal.
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 24, 2023
It’s amazing, yet nothing about this man should surprise us anymore.
This year, he is in the 58th percentile in sprint speed, which might not sound very impressive but let’s also consider he may be taking care of his body with free agency looming.
In the past, the lowest he has been is in the 75th percentile, and ranked above the 90th percentile in sprint speed in both 2020 and 2021.
The eye test doesn’t lie: that video shows you his wheels, and when he uses them, he can change the outcome of a game.
He is one of a kind.
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