MESA, Arizona. – Shohei Ohtani on Friday introduced a 90s fastball and a finishing splitter in the spring throw, a 41-throw outing that seemed to validate the Los Angeles Angels ’hopes of being able to contribute as a two-way player this season.
Ohtani, pitching two days after throwing a 486-foot home run in midfield immediately, attacked five of the 10 Oakland Athletics hitters he faced, the last three in splitters that fell far below the field. vague.
The right-hander issued two runs, gave up three hits (two of which were for additional bases) and was eliminated with two starts in the second inning because the Angels had set a 40-throw limit. But Ohtani was around the strike zone much more often than during his short launch stage last summer, and showed a cleaner, more repeatable delivery, than Angels manager Joe Maddon said. which he hoped to see.
“The most important thing for him: success will be repeating the delivery and knowing where his fast ball is going,” Maddon said after the game. “If that happens, it will really take off.”
Ohtani, 26, has played as a double-track player for just two months for the past three years, in April and May of his 2018 rookie season, before being operated on by Tommy John. He spent the rest of the 2018 season and all of 2019 serving as the Angels ’first designated hitter, and then struggled on his return to two-way action during the 2020 season reduced by COVID-19. Ohtani only made two rough starts before straining the flexor pronor mass near the surgically repaired elbow, limiting it to hitting only.
After the season (he hit 190 and had an ERA of 37.80), Ohtani underwent an aggressive low-season regime in which he entered situations more similar to the game as a hitter and pitcher, renewed his diet and training regimen and sought advice from third parties. , including, according to sources, experts at the renowned Driveline baseball facility. Ohtani’s progress was shown during the training part of the spring training session and is now manifested in game environments.
Ohtani, speaking through his interpreter, said he mistakenly started “cutting” some of his throws while knocking down with runners in goal position, but was pleased with his divider as a throw-out and believes his speed will continue to increase as the season progresses.
Maddon has said he wants to ease some of the restrictions, such as when the turn of Ohtani arrives as part of a six-man rotation instead of a certain day each week. Maddon is also open to the possibility of putting him in training the day after his start, which had not been the case.
“The most important thing was to put him at the forefront of his own career and not try to dictate so much to him, allow his athletics to take control and not worry about getting hurt,” Maddon said of the reasoning. behind more aggressive use. “He’s done it in the past. He should know himself better than we do and we didn’t want to create those limitations or set guidelines that we didn’t know would work or not.”