Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani flirted with history on Thursday night.
Facing the Oakland Athletics, the two-way phenom was magnificent from the mound.
He pitched 7.2 hitless innings before Conner Capel singled in the eighth, taking away the chance of a no-no, but building some hope for the future.
In the end, Ohtani had to settle for eight scoreless innings with just two hits and a walk.
He struck out 10.
The Japanese star is so dominant that one can’t help but think that one day, he might pitch a no-hitter.
If anyone has the mindset, stuff, and determination to do that, it’s definitely him.
It would be historical from every angle, given his obvious offensive prowess.
The Only Player Of His Kind
In fact, he would be the only player of his kind with a no-hitter if he ever achieves one.
“No pitcher has ever had more than 26 career home runs under his belt at the time of throwing a no-hitter (Warren Spahn, 26 at time of each of his no-nos) [h/t @EliasSports] Shohei Ohtani has 127 career HR, and counting. File this away for someday. Based on tonight, someday soon,” MLB stats guru Sarah Langs tweeted.
No pitcher has ever had more than 26 career home runs under his belt at the time of throwing a no-hitter (Warren Spahn, 26 at time of each of his no-nos) [h/t @EliasSports]
Shohei Ohtani has 127 career HR, and counting
File this away for someday. Based on tonight, someday soon.
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 30, 2022
Yes, he would be the only player of his kind to throw a no-no because there are no players like him.
Even Spahn, who hit an amazing 35 home runs (for a pitcher), had a lousy 42 wRC+ as a hitter during his career.
For reference, 100 is considered average, and anything lower means suboptimal performance.
Ohtani’s career wRC+, on the other hand, is 138, or 38 percent better than the average.
He is at 145 now, by virtue of a .275/.358/.529 line and 34 homers.
Oh, and he lowered his ERA to 2.35.
Aaron Judge exists, but in any other year, Ohtani would be a unanimous MVP winner.
