Shohei Ohtani uses PitchCom in opener, K’s 10 in Angels loss

Shohei Ohtani began the 2023 season with a twist: calling his own pitches through a PitchCom device hidden underneath his jersey near his left shoulder. The new look, with Ohtani appearing to jab at his armpit before each pitch, was the only departure from his usual dominance.

He threw six shutout innings against the Athletics in Oakland on Thursday night, striking out 10 and allowing just two hits. He was occasionally wild, walking three and throwing just 55 strikes in 93 pitches. And, in a familiar refrain, he left with a 1-0 lead in a game the Los Angeles Angels would go on to lose 2-1 after Oakland scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth off reliever Aaron Loup, who recorded just one out and called it “probably the most embarrassing outing of my career.”....

(There’s always a statistic to tell the story of Ohtani and the Angels: According to MLB’s Sarah Langs, there have been 25 previous times an Opening Day pitcher struck out 10 and allowed 0 runs. In those games, the pitchers’ teams were 25-0.)

every time I see an Angels highlight it's like "Mike Trout hit three homes runs and raised his average to .528 while Shohei Ohtani did something that hasn't been done since 'Tungsten Arm' O'Doyle of the 1921 Akron Groomsmen, as the Tigers defeated the Angels 8-3"

— ℳatt (@matttomic) May 18, 2021

Ohtani fans Trout to seal Japan’s 3rd Classic championship

MIAMI—Team Japan hoisted the 2023 World Baseball Classic trophy to celebrate its third tournament championship with a 3-2 victory over Team USA on Tuesday at loanDepot park.
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In a matchup anticipated by many, Shohei Ohtani clinched the game by striking out Angels teammate Mike Trout in the ninth.

A deeply satisfying finish to a spectacular tournament.

Tangotiger: Who is the most fun player in MLB, outside of Ohtani?

Based on these polls, this is what I found:

Poll #2: 17.5 singles = 12.5 strikeouts, or singles valued at 1.4X the strikeout. That’s less than its intrinsic run value.

Poll #3: 15 SO = 5 walks, or strikeouts valued at 3X the walk. Fans really don’t like walks.

Poll #4: Fans FAR prefer 3 doubles and 1 out to 4 singles.

Poll #5: Fans somewhat prefer 4 triples to 3 HR and 1 out.

Poll #1: Fans somewhat prefer doubles to steals

Shohei Ohtani’s next contract will smash MLB records

How high will it go? Hard to say, but I polled nine agents — not his own — to find out, and here are the responses.

Agent A: “He will definitely beat Trout, and you have to go from there.” (Mike Trout signed a 12-year, $426.5M deal)

Agent B: “Should get $400M-plus to a winner.”

Agent C: “$430 [million] to $440 over 10 years.”

Agent D: “10 times 45 [million]”

Agent E: “I think he goes to $500M or so, probably 12 years.”

Agent F: “$500M for 13/14 [years]— $250M per position”

Agent G: “475 [million]to 525 over 13 seasons.”

Agent H: “11 times 50 = $550M. Sounds crazy but he has the ability to consistently be a 9/10 WAR player.”

Agent I: “It sure seems like something that starts with a 5 in front of it.”

Ohtani’s stardom extends beyond his pitching and batting and into the international sphere.

Word is Ohtani will indeed shoot for $500M plus, and who would blame him? He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball, and also one of the best hitters, and as a bonus, might be tied for the fastest guy on his team (that would be with Trout).