It’s a performance that will leave you speechless. On the pitching side, Shohei Ohtani (29 LA Angels) finally reached 10 WAR after a down season.
On April 27, Ohtani started two games at designated hitter against the New York Mets, going 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBIs, two runs scored, two walks, and a stolen base for the second straight game.
Under normal circumstances, Ohtani would have gotten the nod. But given his recent form, all we can say is that it’s amazing.
Ohtani is currently dealing with an injury. On April 24, he started the first game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds and had to come out after just 1⅓ innings. He was then removed from the lineup, causing concern.
I went for an MRI and was told that I had torn my right elbow ligament (UCL). It’s an ACL tear.
This is the kind of injury that leads to Tommy John surgery. It’s a major surgery that will take at least a year to recover from.
It’s unclear if Ohtani will have surgery, but he won’t take the mound for the rest of the season. He’s out for the season.
Ohtani will continue to be available. That’s because he’s still a hitter.
What’s amazing is that he’s been flying, even though he knows he has a torn ACL. He went 1-for-2 with a home run, a run scored, and a walk on Saturday, and then had two consecutive four-hit games today with two hits, a walk, and two stolen bases. It’s hard to believe he’s still dealing with an elbow injury.
With this surge, Ohtani set a new Wins Above Replacement (WAR) record.
According to Baseball-Reference, Ohtani reached the 10.0 WAR plateau. This is a career first. There’s a big gap between him and second-place Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers (7.1). He is followed by Yakuna Jr. (6.4) and Kim Ha-Sung (6.2).메이저놀이터
Ohtani finished first in 2021 with 8.9 WAR and second last year with 9.6.
It will be interesting to see how far Ohtani’s rise continues.