July 1, 2021
And when you’re not, you’re not. It’s only human. But when folks begin moving you into the Super-human category, one bad night can really sting. And that’s what happened Wednesday night in the Bronx. Shohei Ohtani took the mound for the Angels in his Stadium pitching debut and it went downhill fast. After driving one deep into center for an out in the top half of the first, Ohtani came out to pitch in the bottom half. What’s that you say? Pitchers don’t bat in Yankee Stadium? They generally don’t bat at all in the AL.
But that’s the thing with Oh. He insisted on doing both for whatever team he played for. The Yanks were like, no thanks. He wound up playing for the L.A. Angels and racking up a pretty amazing record so far this season by pitching and batting. Doing both in the AL is unusual. Doing both well is, well, practically unheard of. Pitchers were basically such an automatic easy out that the League green lit the Designated Hitter position way back in the 70’s.
Anyway, comparisons had been made to Babe Ruth, the Patron Saint of All Things Yankee. So in addition to the incredible pressure anybody would feel pitching in the most hallowed baseball stadium in the world for the first time, being included in a sentence with the Babe had to make it a zillion times worse. According to AP, “He became the first pitcher to start one game after hitting two home runs for his team since Ruth did it for the Yankees on Sept. 28, 1930.”
But on this highly anticipated night it didn’t take long to see that Babe Ruth’s place atop the Yank’s legacy was secure, at least for now. Ohtani quickly blew a 2-0 lead by walking the bases full and then giving up two hits that tied the game. There was also a passed ball and a hit batter. With 2 out in the bottom of the first and the Yanks up 4-2, his night was already over. Watching Aaron Slegers, who took Oh’s place on the mound, immediately give up a 3 run double confirmed that this was just not Oh’s night as his team fell behind 7-2.
Still, at least one fan found himself thinking about Ohtani wearing Yankee pinstripes some day. Wouldn’t that be something?
Shohei Ohtani’s Pitching Debut at Yankee Stadium, June 30, 2021.