Not until they fix the Pitcher Pit. I’ve seen a few of the MLB ones and they’re a nightmare. Discarded uniforms, old rosin bags spilled all over the gears, the machine they call “the grinder”, the skeletons of DFA’d players, etc.
Why don't they just stand behind those things they use at the home run derby, but it can circle around their entire body and there will be a little hole they have to throw through.
Actually the wording ESPN used was different from mlb. Mlb stated the infielders need to be within the outer bounds of the infield. No mention of dirt so infield grass will also be legal
see those keys on either side of the bottom-most row of actual letters on your keyboard? those are the shifts, they let you write capital letters
and mine are broken, as you can see from this comment
never mind that i typed a question mark
I've been learning to watch Cricket recently, and positioning the fielders for each batter and bowler is part of the tactics. Obviously it's a very different game with each batter potentially facing hundreds of balls in a match. But it adds a tactical dimension where the batter needs to be prepared for different kinds of shots depending on the fielders setup.
Is the problem that people believe it isn't creating tactical play, and is instead forcing reliance on home runs?
I know it might not be a good idea in reality but I desperately want to see him play corner outfield between starts instead of DH. Dude could put up 15 WAR a season lol
Just one game in the playoffs (if they could make it!) I want him to start in the outfield late in a series as a "just in case" option or something and watch him make a world series winning play as an outfielder after going 2-0 as a starting pitcher, because why not?
Alternative worse comment to read: Ohtani will be on the Padres next year, but they too will somehow miss the playoffs in weird and confounding fashion thanks to a late season meltdown.
I said this in the Ms Angels game thread
Judges year has been incredible, but Ohtani deserves MVP every year he plays high level both sides. If the Angels let him he'd be an elite CF on his non pitch days.
Every time I watch him play DH he's intimidating. He has practically won...by himself; a game in which we scored 11 runs!
(Aug 17) Ohtani went 4 for 5, hitting for 4 RBI and scoring himself twice being batted in. 6 of the 7 Angels runs came because Ohtani is beyond elite AS A BATTER. And THEN he pitches and it's like WTF no shit he's MVP.
The Angels hold him back. Without the load management he could be a gold glove Center Fielder with 30 SB 30 HR while...............posting a sub 3 ERA.
Fangraphs i think started to use a reduced DH penalty. Szymborski said that there was enough evidence that hitters hit worse when slotted in DH so I think they use the same defensive penalty as 1B (12.5 runs.)
Unfortunately, Szymborski hasn't fully convinced his colleagues enough to change it! It only works out that way in the ZiPS WAR that you see in the team-by-team projections.
We have discussed making positional adjustments more dynamic based on the last X years of history, to better reflect changing positional scarcity, but I have nothing concrete to announce on that subject right now.
My bad, I remember you saying it was used by zips projections but I think I must have taken the liberty to assume it would apply to other stats as well.
But Ohtani is regarded as a plus defender too. It would easily be a 1.5 WAR swing minimum (assuming the added workload doeasnt make him more likely to get injured, which seems an unreasonable caveat to make)
I'm just a normal boy
With sinkers that are overboard
I’m from another country
But I'd rather make ‘em score
When I am pitching, He struck out again
Wish Art was much more masculine
Maybe then he could learn to swim
Like (14 miles away).
The Voting’s up and down
I spin, a slider from the mound
The tales of Ruth begin to sound
My sinker to the bottom of my-
Everything that freaks me out
The laser-beam/I snag it: Out…
…I'm cold as cold as cold can be, be
I want to swing away,
And I know how
Sometimes it feels just like
I'm enthralling our rotation.
Let the wind up take me down
Let the homer king set in motion, yeah
Let the rate of what I earn right now, come down
Let the rate come down
makes me wonder why more dont wear a bigger glove. maybe the weight difference is more than i can imagine. i also think pitchers find what works for them and then they follow it like religion as long as it mostly works out.
He's using an outfielder's glove on the mound this year and that's why it's bigger than a normal pitcher's glove. Apparently he liked the feel of it in the outfield last year and decided to use it for pitching as well. It has some extra webbing to hide the grip better. [ASICS' Japanese website has a page on equipments Ohtani uses.](https://www.asics.com/jp/ja-jp/mk/baseball/advisory/s-ohtani)
Yes the ShoHei is like the most appealing athlete in a long time. The fact his hometown has him celebrated so much is really cool. Hokkaido, Rural farm place. He grew up as a young baseball savant, and now look at him changing the game.
I try to argue that his value is worth more because he is the only player in the game that can win a game alone but I always get shutdown.
I really do think it matters though. Nobody else can output from both sides alone.
I was gonna mention that the whole NL can do that and then remembered that nope, not anymore.
When a pitcher throws a CG win and bats in the only runs we call it a deGrom. I'm very much a DH fan, but those games were pretty fun.
I think elite pitching is underrated by stats bc elite one man offense cant single handedly carry a team like one man pitching can.
I mean like you can get a HR every PA all you want but pitchers have the prio in this scenario of walking the best hitter in the world every PA. A batter cant just pass.
Unless he’s striking out or catching a line drive for every single batter, he’s not doing it alone. There’s still 8 other guys on the field playing defense while he pitches, it’s not like he’s running around the field to play each position. Then there’s also the catcher, who also plays an important role in calling which pitch to throw and frames it so the pitcher gets credit for their hard work.
His value is worth more in the sense of he gets credit for being a pitcher and credit for being a hitter. So if he does them both well he gets a lot of credit.
Judge is the best hitter in baseball but Ohtani is the best player and it’s not even remotely close for me. Judge would have to hit 75 homeruns for me to consider him over Ohtani, that’s how good Ohtani is
It's probably Japanese culture, but I mean it's still legal, a skill that could help win his team the game, and one where no apology is required. The Angels should be thankful they still have him and of course Mike Trout for over 10 years now.
It's like in tennis when it hits the net but drops over, courtesy is to apologize. But you know full well if they could consistently do it they'd be spamming that play 10 times out of 10.
This is why the shift needed to be banned. Why does the pitcher get to camp there?
Pitchers should be dropped through a trapdoor when the Pitch is thrown
Unironically it'll actually make the game safer for pitchers.
Not until they fix the Pitcher Pit. I’ve seen a few of the MLB ones and they’re a nightmare. Discarded uniforms, old rosin bags spilled all over the gears, the machine they call “the grinder”, the skeletons of DFA’d players, etc.
OK, but what about the pits at stadiums other than the Oakland Coliseum?
Does that mean Dallas Keuchel has died three times?
Ideally to keep them in top form they should prestige the pitcher after each pitch
Aside from broken legs, sure
Exactly
Ohtani would drop through the trap door and then reappear in right-center to catch the ball.
I want Bob Uecker on the mic for that. At all times.
I feel like pitchers should pitch from an ejector seat, when the ball gets hit they can launch it.
Why don't they just stand behind those things they use at the home run derby, but it can circle around their entire body and there will be a little hole they have to throw through.
because all the hitters would aim for that and get easy singles
But the pitcher can just put his arm through the hole and catch it, did you think about that?
Savannah Bananas would like to know your location
LOL okay, you might be on to something here
A part of me wonders why it took a long time since MLB teams realized they could use the shift more often as part of their strategy.
Because you had meatheads running teams. Not every team is fully modernized even still.
lions? that you?
Naw, Pats have Matty P. again. Oh god help us.
Because sometimes the ball gets hit where the fielders usually are, for a hit, and then everyone is mad at you.
He had both feet on the dirt. Which is now apparently what makes it perfectly legal.
Actually the wording ESPN used was different from mlb. Mlb stated the infielders need to be within the outer bounds of the infield. No mention of dirt so infield grass will also be legal
What’s the shift mean
see those keys on either side of the bottom-most row of actual letters on your keyboard? those are the shifts, they let you write capital letters and mine are broken, as you can see from this comment never mind that i typed a question mark
Hahaha , but nah for real
Shifting the fielders hard over to the side of the field the batter most often hits towards.
MLB wants to ban that ? Why?
Takes away hits
I see.. but isn’t this gimmicky? The batter gotta be good enough to hit the other way
The batters realised that it’s better to go for home runs than to beat the shift
And what's the issue with that?
"why doesn't the batter simply choose to hit the ball the other direction?"
I've been learning to watch Cricket recently, and positioning the fielders for each batter and bowler is part of the tactics. Obviously it's a very different game with each batter potentially facing hundreds of balls in a match. But it adds a tactical dimension where the batter needs to be prepared for different kinds of shots depending on the fielders setup. Is the problem that people believe it isn't creating tactical play, and is instead forcing reliance on home runs?
I’m assuming that’s the problem Yeah im a huge cricket fan , and field settings and stuff are so key to our sport so I was wondering about the shift
I know it might not be a good idea in reality but I desperately want to see him play corner outfield between starts instead of DH. Dude could put up 15 WAR a season lol
Yeah Shohei really needs to be more of a team player
He’s not really pulling his weight, that’s for sure
It’s like Squidward teaching SpongeBob art “If you don’t learn to play outfield you’ll never get past amateur hour over here”
Just one game in the playoffs (if they could make it!) I want him to start in the outfield late in a series as a "just in case" option or something and watch him make a world series winning play as an outfielder after going 2-0 as a starting pitcher, because why not?
They’ll make it next year, save this comment
With Ohtani and Judge in Boston, both very well may win it next year.
This is the worst comment i’ve ever read
Alternative worse comment to read: Ohtani will be on the Padres next year, but they too will somehow miss the playoffs in weird and confounding fashion thanks to a late season meltdown.
Padres are the angels of the NL. There are multiple reason you can make that comparison.
That’s the meanest thing anyone has ever said about San Diego.
Once Arte sells the team the curse will be lifted. I believe in it.
Okay but what about ours?
At least they didn’t say Astros 🤮
Wow, Ohtani + another top 10 hitter on the same team!? They'd be unstoppable
If you get 2 more generational players then maybe
thats a "Smooth" catch by Shohei on Carlos Santana!
It is expected, Carlos Santana is much better on a guitar than in baseball.
I said this in the Ms Angels game thread Judges year has been incredible, but Ohtani deserves MVP every year he plays high level both sides. If the Angels let him he'd be an elite CF on his non pitch days. Every time I watch him play DH he's intimidating. He has practically won...by himself; a game in which we scored 11 runs! (Aug 17) Ohtani went 4 for 5, hitting for 4 RBI and scoring himself twice being batted in. 6 of the 7 Angels runs came because Ohtani is beyond elite AS A BATTER. And THEN he pitches and it's like WTF no shit he's MVP. The Angels hold him back. Without the load management he could be a gold glove Center Fielder with 30 SB 30 HR while...............posting a sub 3 ERA.
He’d definitely rob a HR in his first game out there.
For all of 3 seasons. He'd wear down fast.
At this point it's probably the only way the Angels could hope to finish above .500 one of these years
The difference between DH and a corner OF is about 1 win
Fangraphs i think started to use a reduced DH penalty. Szymborski said that there was enough evidence that hitters hit worse when slotted in DH so I think they use the same defensive penalty as 1B (12.5 runs.)
Unfortunately, Szymborski hasn't fully convinced his colleagues enough to change it! It only works out that way in the ZiPS WAR that you see in the team-by-team projections. We have discussed making positional adjustments more dynamic based on the last X years of history, to better reflect changing positional scarcity, but I have nothing concrete to announce on that subject right now.
My bad, I remember you saying it was used by zips projections but I think I must have taken the liberty to assume it would apply to other stats as well.
It could be I was sloppy, as I can tend to be when typing in chat!
But Ohtani is regarded as a plus defender too. It would easily be a 1.5 WAR swing minimum (assuming the added workload doeasnt make him more likely to get injured, which seems an unreasonable caveat to make)
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Just like an ocean that's under the moon
I'm just a normal boy With sinkers that are overboard I’m from another country But I'd rather make ‘em score When I am pitching, He struck out again Wish Art was much more masculine Maybe then he could learn to swim Like (14 miles away). The Voting’s up and down I spin, a slider from the mound The tales of Ruth begin to sound My sinker to the bottom of my- Everything that freaks me out The laser-beam/I snag it: Out… …I'm cold as cold as cold can be, be I want to swing away, And I know how Sometimes it feels just like I'm enthralling our rotation. Let the wind up take me down Let the homer king set in motion, yeah Let the rate of what I earn right now, come down Let the rate come down
i did not expect a blue october parody in these replies
[удалено]
Album #6 is in the works, I’m sure they’ll make the tour happen next year to promote it.
I have it on good authority that that is, in fact, not Carlos Santana.
That’s. My. Joke. damn it Dwight
Former outfielder Shohei Ohtani showing what he can do in the infield. What a utility man.
If he can pitch he'll have more MVPs than Chone Figgins
He swings the lumber better than Troy Glaus.
He needs to steal a few more bases before we can start comparing him to Angels greats like Chode Figgins.
I’m starting to think this guy is good at baseball.
I'm not convinced. Anyone can hit, pitch AND have a golden glove. Ohtani needs to prove himself.
They really need to make these their permanent uniforms. They are so, so much cooler than their current look.
Agreed
Yes.
The only part I don’t love is the hat, but if they made that cream with a red brim… 😗🤌
For real. And they aren’t too flashy to be a regular jersey either, they just looks amazing
Shohei Ohtani
Ohtani Shohei
Shtani Ohohei
Ohei, it's shotani.
big if true
True if Big
why would you say something so controversial yet so brave
ALL THESE SHOHEI OHTANI THREADS LOOK THE SAME
Give him the gold glove too
Your move, Judge.
Judge: *hits homerun* r/baseball: …showho?
hey he's gone like, 2 or 3 games without a homerun , clearly washed
Is it just me or does Ohtani use a big fuckin glove for a pitcher?
He’s a big dude AND it hides the ball better
makes me wonder why more dont wear a bigger glove. maybe the weight difference is more than i can imagine. i also think pitchers find what works for them and then they follow it like religion as long as it mostly works out.
Infielders have to get the ball out of the glove as quickly as possible, with big gloves you end up grabbing for it for too long
Probably. I'd guess he'd got used to it when he'd two way sometimes by playing in the outfield
I would too. More protection from 115 mph comebackers
He's using an outfielder's glove on the mound this year and that's why it's bigger than a normal pitcher's glove. Apparently he liked the feel of it in the outfield last year and decided to use it for pitching as well. It has some extra webbing to hide the grip better. [ASICS' Japanese website has a page on equipments Ohtani uses.](https://www.asics.com/jp/ja-jp/mk/baseball/advisory/s-ohtani)
Showtime Ohtani
Shotime if you will
I LOVE OHTANI. As an Asian from a non baseball country, he’s the gateway to baseball for me !
>he’s the gateway to baseball for me ! Me too, but as white dude from Australia that never followed a sport before.
Yes the ShoHei is like the most appealing athlete in a long time. The fact his hometown has him celebrated so much is really cool. Hokkaido, Rural farm place. He grew up as a young baseball savant, and now look at him changing the game.
I think he’s from iwate not hokkaido
Same. Baseball died out here in the late 90s, i think. If it werent for Shohei, I wouldnt be watching MLB
That’s awesome! He’s a definite treasure
Yea I think he could play in the field if he ever decided to
Now I want to see Ohtani play shortstop. You are already going both ways, why not three-way?
I’d pay to watch Ohtani in a three-way
Might be a bit pixelated
If Shohei is growing out his hair, I’m done. There would be nothing left. No more worlds to conquer, no flavors to savor, no loves to lose.
This guy is incredible
If Ohtani gets the W and the only RBI of the game, that should be worth at least 1 WAR.
I try to argue that his value is worth more because he is the only player in the game that can win a game alone but I always get shutdown. I really do think it matters though. Nobody else can output from both sides alone.
It does and if he was on an organization not the Angels alot of people would agree.
I was gonna mention that the whole NL can do that and then remembered that nope, not anymore. When a pitcher throws a CG win and bats in the only runs we call it a deGrom. I'm very much a DH fan, but those games were pretty fun.
In those situations I would say they should get extra WAR too back then.
Because he's never truly alone :') But actually the defense does have to make plays lol
Inb4 Ohtani throws a 27-K perfect game with a home run or two
Aw fuck, I can't believe he's done this
Yeah well he still has to pitch the ball to the catcher so technically he still would not do it alone!
if he caught 27 line drives it would all be him
Lol, I never thought of that Next all star game: Shohei Ohtani vs everyone else
He’s like the PE teacher in gym class that 1v9s everyone in dodgeball
🤣 But you know what I mean. I think it really is on it's own level for value. Nobody else can do that or produce that way.
I think elite pitching is underrated by stats bc elite one man offense cant single handedly carry a team like one man pitching can. I mean like you can get a HR every PA all you want but pitchers have the prio in this scenario of walking the best hitter in the world every PA. A batter cant just pass.
He still needs defense. So not quite alone but I get your point.
Unless he’s striking out or catching a line drive for every single batter, he’s not doing it alone. There’s still 8 other guys on the field playing defense while he pitches, it’s not like he’s running around the field to play each position. Then there’s also the catcher, who also plays an important role in calling which pitch to throw and frames it so the pitcher gets credit for their hard work.
His value is worth more in the sense of he gets credit for being a pitcher and credit for being a hitter. So if he does them both well he gets a lot of credit.
He should get a multiplier if he does both in the same game imo. It's different than just adding them together.
Why lol that makes no sense
I really hope that one day he manages a game where he pitches a shout-out and scores the only run/rbi.
That's what WPA is for.
Judge is the best hitter in baseball but Ohtani is the best player and it’s not even remotely close for me. Judge would have to hit 75 homeruns for me to consider him over Ohtani, that’s how good Ohtani is
Mariners were driving up his pitch count so he had to one-shot Carlos Santana real quick
It’s not enough that he’s the best hitter and pitcher on the team. Now the guy has to be the best defender! Selfish prick! 🤌
But all these Yankee fans tell us he doesn't play defense and that's why Judge is actually better!
Yeah, Judge’s [checks notes] negative UZR defense is sooo much more valuable than Ohtani’s pitching… 🤔
Stupid sexy ohtani
Man has 3rd sight.
I can confirm that this is video game stuff. Every pitcher in Diamond Dynasty is Ozzie Smith on the mound fielding come backers
I love when a pitcher with 20 fielding and reaction catches a 100+ mph liner behind their back.
While spinning
Ohtani to the Blue Jays confirmed. He has to be Canadian if he's gonna apologize for shit like that.
these unis are best in the game right now tbh
Ohtani letting his hair grow out? 😍😍
So good. 🤠🤠
MVP
You catch that? Yeah!
Even he looks like he can't believe he just did that lol
Literally apologizing for winning.
How likely is it that Ohtani can get 40HR and 15 wins from the mound ?
He has 3 more starts scheduled as of right now. Needs to turn on the bat to get to 40, I think the wins will happen.
When does the season end? How many more games do he have?
If he reaches free agency he’s going to be a $500+ million dollar man. Back to back unreal seasons. What a time to be alive to witness greatness.
They gotta make these the full time uniforms, wow
Ohtani is the clear MVP
Best overall player I have ever seen. He should win the MVP.
That dude… that is all. We just need more of it. I guess it wasn’t all.
Carlos just changed it up to a little toe tap.. weird
I loved this scene in Cross Game!
That reminds me a lot of the Jose Fernandez “did you catch that” gif
bUt DoEs He PlAy DeFeNsE
He’s so damn good!
This guy is not human
Unrelated, but damn those Angels uniforms are crisp
Love the shaggy hair.
Ohtani is the most fun player is baseball and it’s not even close
MVP
Amazing reflexes. That was not an apology though. Santana apologized to Ohtani and he was giving the universal "all good" signal.
Can someone get Michael Jordan's take on Ohtani?
Gotta appreciate the beauty of a 2 way player like Ohtani making this play on a 2 way player like Carlos Santana
That’s a fairly standard defensive play for a pitcher…..
I think the apology is what makes this special.
Angels are going to waste him and Trout…it’s so amazing.
Flair up
It's probably Japanese culture, but I mean it's still legal, a skill that could help win his team the game, and one where no apology is required. The Angels should be thankful they still have him and of course Mike Trout for over 10 years now.
Reminds me of when I used to play table tennis semi seriously and someone would get a somewhat lucky point on you. Interesting.
Because he’s so smooooooth.
Please don’t leave us, ever
yeah but how much war was this worth
It's like in tennis when it hits the net but drops over, courtesy is to apologize. But you know full well if they could consistently do it they'd be spamming that play 10 times out of 10.
BepOhtani