Shohei Ohtani is planning to pitch and hit for the Los Angeles Angels this season. It will be his first time pitching in competitive games since September 2018, when he hurt his arm and later underwent Tommy John surgery.
Ohtani is working his way back and pitched in an intrasquad game on Tuesday. Angels reporter Trent Rush charted the outing and unofficially had Ohtani throwing just 15 strikes out of 50 pitches, with eight walks, six wild pitches and a hit-by-pitch.
Angels TV analyst Mark Gubicza said the focus should be on Ohtani’s health more than the results.
Ohtani also said he felt satisfied with where he was physically.
Though the stats might give some fans concern, it’s important to place them into context.
Ohtani has never performed well in spring training since joining the Angels. In 2018, he allowed nine hits and nine runs in 2.2 innings over two spring training outings. As a hitter, he’s batted just .118 (6/51) in two spring trainings.
If there is anything Ohtani has taught us, it’s that his poor practice stats shouldn’t raise too much concern.
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