Shohei Ohtani continues to post mind-blowing stats despite injury
Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani may have had his season on the mound derailed by injury, but he's essentially morphed into the modern-day version of Barry Bonds at the plate.
Okay, maybe that's a little extreme, but UCL tear and all, Ohtani is still one of the most feared batters in baseball and an incredible statistic backs it up. Entering Sunday, teams had intentionally walked Ohtani 18 times, more than every MLB club except the Cleveland Guardians (30) and Los Angeles Dodgers (24).
Unsurprisingly, teams fear Ohtani even more with runners on. Over Ohtani's last 27 at-bats with runners in scoring position, he earned a free pass 15 times.
Ohtani was diagnosed this week with a devastating UCL tear in his throwing elbow, shelving his pitching career for the foreseeable future. However, it hasn't impacted him with a bat during an incredible August, incredible even by Ohtani standards.
Heading into Sunday night's series finale against the New York Mets, Ohtani was batting .321/.436/.628 with five home runs, 11 RBI and 16 walks over 23 games this month. On Saturday, Ohtani became the first player since 1997 to record at least two runs, two walks, two stolen bases, a double and a triple in the same game, per MLB Metrics.
Ohtani's injury might put a small hurt on his wallet come free agency. Also, with a potential second Tommy John surgery in five years a real possibility this offseason, there are still some question marks regarding Ohtani's future on the mound.
Despite the adversity, though, Ohtani has stepped up and perhaps proven that he's still worth the potential $500 contract that many pundits believed he'd get this offseason on the open market.
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