Baseball Primer Newsblog— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
After giving up four runs while throwing 28 pitches in the first inning — when he walked two, hit another batter and threw a wild pitch — Ohtani got the Angels even at 4-4 in the top of the second when he had a two-run double and then scored on a single by Mike Trout, who had four hits in his return to the lineup.
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The Japanese right-hander retired 14 of the last 15 batters he faced in five innings, with all of his strikeouts in that span. It was his first big league win since 2018, before Tommy John surgery that kept him off the mound for all of 2019 and most of last season.
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1. Don August(us) Cesar Geronimo Berroa Posted: April 27, 2021 at 08:15 AM (#6015628)Ohtani, however, is the coolest guy in the majors. Love that he is hitting during his starts.
But the control problem is the big one. For an inning or two each game, he looks like he has no idea where the ball is going, which has to be terrifying for hitters.
That just sounds unbelievable to anyone who saw the first inning. He had absolutely no idea where the ball was going. Then he comes back for the 2nd and it's strike after strike.
Ohtani ripping that 2-RBI double after the awful bottom of the first seemed to settle him down, gave him something to think about besides all the walks, and helped him relax. He's been pretty emphatic in saying that he thinks hitting in the games that he pitches helps him, and that may have been an example of how that happens. He's very expressive on the field, so you know there's a lot going on in his head. Batting maybe helps him reset after a bad inning on the mound.
Reminds me of Hideki Matsui's swing
This is not a well written sentence.
"For Ted Radcliffe, who played in the Negro Leagues from 1929 to 1946 as a pitcher and catcher, playing both ways was not just a role but a brand. In a 1932 doubleheader between his Pittsburgh Crawfords and the New York Black Yankees at Yankee Stadium, Radcliffe hit a grand slam and caught the great Satchel Paige’s shutout in the first game, then threw a shutout of his own in the second. Renowned writer Damon Runyon saw the performance and dubbed him “Double Duty” -- the moniker Radcliffe, one of the Negro Leagues’ most lively ambassadors, would proudly wear for the rest of his 103 years."
HOMers Martin Dihigo and Bullet Joe Rogan also noted in the article:
"Seamheads’ database credits Dihigo with no fewer than 235 innings apiece at first base, second base, shortstop, third base, left field, center field and right field in a professional career that spanned 1922 to 1945."
"Rogan put his stuff to good use with 130 wins, a 2.66 ERA and a 142 ERA+ over 15 seasons with the Kansas City Monarchs..... Rogan, who stood a small but strong 5-foot-7, 160 pounds, added to his allure with his reputation as a superb defensive center fielder and a fantastic hitter with a particular talent for doing damage with the low ball."
I acknowledge that his control problems in the first two starts (both at home) were very different looking than in this start, so maybe it is all random.
If he bats at the bottom, there's a much better chance the Angels are going to need to pinch-hit for that spot three times rather than two.
True, but if it meant that he was likely to have a better start to the game that might be worth it. And I don't mean bat him 9th, but I wonder if having him 6, 7, or 8 would push him out of the first inning without taking on all of the likelihood of needing to pinch-hit for him three times. I know someone has the math to figure this out, it's just not me.
I never thought they'd let him hit when he pitched in AL parks, because they're committing to playing without a DH for about half the game against a team that has one. Of course, if he continues to hit like this, it makes the case for hitting him a whole lot stronger.
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