Two-way baseball star Shohei Ohtani continues to amaze in his rookie MLB season with the Angels. The 23-year-old has a 3.58 ERA with excellent peripherals and a fastball that has frequently touched 100 mph on the mound, and he’s been every bit as good as a hitter (.321/.367/.619 slash line, 6 homers in 90 plate appearances).
Quite simply: Ohtani is a total baseball freak and an unbelievable talent to watch.
That even includes in batting practice, where he puts on a ridiculous show.And that was certainly the case before Friday night’s Angels game in Anaheim, when Ohtani launched this blast at Angel Stadium:
5/18 Shohei Ohtani 大谷翔平 Batting Practice
that hit the right field video board in the Angel Stadium! its projected to be around 525 ft. (reporter) height is unknown. It went almost to the top of that video board…
source: NHK news 7 pic.twitter.com/hKlxe9e99D
— Shohei 翔平 ⚾ (@shinjibvby) May 19, 2018
As you may notice in that Tweet, the homer was “projected to be around 525 feet.” It’s definitely way, way up there near the videoboard, but 525 feet? That’s probably a stretch. Maybe pushing 500 feet though.
Whatever the case, it was a massive bomb, and he did the same thing recently during practice at Coors Field (Yes, #Coors, but this one was still an eye-opening blast that impressed everyone in the stadium.).
Yes, it's batting practice, but come on. Shohei Ohtani was sending balls into the UPPER DECKS! 😲#Shotime | @Angels pic.twitter.com/HPJCmlZqDR
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) May 9, 2018
Shohei Ohtani hit a ball in BP at Coors Field HERE, and left a mark that's still there a day later pic.twitter.com/UjXu1JQZ6j
— Jake Shapiro (@Shapalicious) May 9, 2018
Naturally, the idea of Ohtani in this year’s Home Run Derby has been a topic of conversation, and Angels manager Mike Scioscia was asked his thoughts on it:
Mike Scioscia seemed open to Shohei Ohtani potentially participating in the HR Derby: "That's a player's decision. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of things that come into what a player decides, but it's always been the prerogative of a player if he wants to participate."
— Maria I. Guardado (@mi_guardado) May 19, 2018
And Ohtani has already won a professional Home Run Derby, in Japan:
Shohei Ohtani competed in the 2016 Home Run Derby in Japan, btw. He won. https://t.co/QtmgNKZpyi
— Maria I. Guardado (@mi_guardado) May 20, 2018
If we do see Ohtani in this year’s MLB Home Run Derby, it will be July 18 at Dodger Stadium.