Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani is widely regarded as one of the best players in the MLB. But one insane stat that emerged after Ohtani’s latest home run shows just how great he has really played this season.
Ohtani came into Friday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays with 38 home runs on the year, which is far and away the most in the MLB this season.
It’s almost expected every time he comes up to the plate that he will do something special. And that is exactly what happened in his first at-bat on Friday.
Ohtani took the first pitch that he saw against Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman deep to right field for his 39th home run of the season to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead.
Shohei Ohtani crushes home run No. 39 on the season! ⚾️💣🦄pic.twitter.com/iPOQMXZbA0
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) July 28, 2023
Shortly after the blast, ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweeted a stat about Ohtani that truly speaks to his excellence at the plate. According to Passan, Ohtani is averaging a home run in every 9.8 at-bats on the season.
Shohei. Again. No. 39. He's now homering once every 9.8 at-bats.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 28, 2023
For reference, if he continued this pace for the rest of the season, Ohtani would rank 24th in MLB history in at-bats per home run for a single season.
This alone means that Ohtani is on pace for a historically great season as a hitter. But his pitching ability on top of that could mean that he is in store for one of the best seasons in baseball history.
Ohtani has excelled on the mound nearly as much as at the plate. He ranks inside the top-15 in pitching wins above replacement (WAR), and is in the top five in strikeouts.
It certainly seems like Ohtani keeps reaching new heights as a player, and fans are truly witnessing something special from him.
