Watch: Announcer jumps the gun on potential historic moment for Shohei Ohtani
Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani was just a couple of feet from another historic moment on Thursday afternoon. And it prematurely excited the Angels TV broadcast team, who jumped the gun on calling it.
Ohtani stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday having already hit a single, a double and a triple against the Oakland A's. He also served as the Angels' starting pitcher.
Ohtani was just a home run away from the cycle, and if he had done it he would have been the first player in major league history to hit the for the cycle in the same game they started as a pitcher.
When he made contact, it seemed like he was going to do it.
It was a solid hit, the sound was right and it looked great coming off the bat. So great the Angels announcer Wayne Randazzo excitedly screamed, "Ohtnai drives one! Right centerfield! Baseball history coming for Shohei Ohtani...but it is caught at the wall!"
So close!
Along with his three hits, Ohtani also pitched six innings and struck out eight batters in the Angels' 8-7 win. He did allow five earned runs in a rough fourth inning, but those were the only runs he allowed.
Ohtani is 4-0 this season as a starting pitcher with a 1.85 ERA. He also owns an .869 OPS at the plate.
He has been one of the best starting pitchers in the league this season and is already emerging as an early front-runner for the American League Cy Young Award. Ohtani is an unrestricted free agent after this season and could become baseball's first $500 million player. He was just a few feet away from making another piece of history on Thursday.
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