Yankees' Tommy Kahnle addresses epic bat flip from Angels' Shohei Ohtani
New York Yankees relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle sounds unbothered by the actions of Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani on Monday night.
As shared by Manuel Gómez of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, Kahnle was asked during a Tuesday appearance on "Foul Territory" if Ohtani gets somewhat of a pass for flipping his bat after crushing a home run because the 29-year-old is also a pitcher.
"Yeah," Kahnle answered. "Probably, right? But, I don’t know. It’s just a bat flip, you know?"
The Angels trailed the Yankees 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning of Monday's game when Ohtani stepped up to the plate as the potential tying run.
With the count at 1-2, the uncrowned American League Most Valuable Player for 2023 blasted a two-run shot off Yankees reliever Michael King and then celebrated the moment with an impressive flip of his bat before he began his jog around the bases:
Kahnle noted it matters Ohtani admired the home run without glaring at King.
"That’s the thing," Kahnle explained. "It gets to the point where he’s not staring him down or anything. He just watched his homer... I get a little ticked when you get the look. If you get a look, it’s a little different."
Ohtani's heroics on Monday and over the next couple of weeks could impact both the Angels and Yankees beyond just this season. Los Angeles improved to 47-48 via the 4-3 extra-innings win over New York but entered Tuesday's contest between the clubs still five-and-a-half games back in the race for a wild card spot.
Meanwhile, the 50-45 Yankees were two-and-a-half games back of a wild-card berth before Tuesday's MLB action got underway.
Ohtani remains set to reach free agency after the season and could be traded before the Aug. 1 deadline for such transactions depending on where the Angels are in the standings by late July.
The Yankees reportedly are "the most motivated" team to make a serious move for Ohtani this summer as they await the return of slugger Aaron Judge, so it's possible Kahnle wisely watched his words while speaking about the phenom who theoretically could become a teammate sooner rather than later.
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