Shohei “Idoryu” Ohtani, 29, has a shot at the batting trifecta. He ranks in the top three in batting average, RBIs, and home runs. Ohtani is in for a big challenge.
Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim batted second in the lineup against the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 8. Despite the team’s 3-8 loss, he went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Raised his season batting average to .308.
Moved to third in the American League in batting average. Behind the Toronto Blue Jays’ Bo Bissett (.321) and the Tampa Bay Rays’ Yandy Dias (.315). He’s quite a ways off the lead, but he’s been steadily increasing his batting pace, so it’s not out of the question.
The home runs practically cemented his American League lead. With 40, he’s 10 behind the Chicago White Sox’s Luis Robert. RBIs are second. With 82, he trails only the Texas Rangers’ Adolis Garcia, who has 89.
MLB.com highlighted Ohtani’s batting triple crown chances on Aug. 8. Explaining his current batting surge, they said he could lead the league in RBIs and batting average. With the home run title virtually locked up, they pointed out that his batting average and RBIs are expected to rise.
Breaking down the hitting metrics, Ohtani is even more impressive. While he’s currently leading the league in home runs, he’s also first in walks (71), first in slugging percentage (0.409), first in on-base percentage (0.673), and first in OPS (1.082). He’s third in hits (129). The term “fraudulent character” fits him perfectly.
The variable is stamina. As both a pitcher and a hitter, the question is whether Ohtani will be able to maintain his current form until the end of the season. Injuries or a decline in stamina could hamper his performance at both ends of the plate.먹튀검증
The Angels have played 114 games through eight days. They still have 48 games to go. It will be interesting to see if Ohtani can maintain his current pace through the end of the season and still have a shot at the batting triple crown.
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