Shohei Otani. Photo = Getty Images
Shohei Otani (27, Los Angeles Angels) has made a splendid return from last season’s sluggishness.
On the 5th (Korean time), Otani appeared as the second batter and starting pitcher in the home game against the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, USA. It is the first two-tapping business trip after his professional debut. The pitcher entered the batting order twice, only three times in major league history, 118 years after Jack Dunleavy (St. Louis) in 1903.
On this day, Otani scored 3 runs, 1 hit (1 home run) and 1 RBI as a batter, and 4⅔ innings, 2 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts and 3 runs (1 ERA) as a pitcher. He walked a lot and failed to digest the long innings and suppress the goal as he couldn’t get any defensive help. However, with a high speed ball of up to 101.1 miles (about 163 km) and a high speed splitter of up to 92.6 miles (about 149 km), he struck out the opponents by strikeouts. He also announced the resurgence of the American League rookie king in the 2018 season by shooting 115.2 miles (about 185 km), the fastest home run this season.
Otani, who made her gorgeous debut in the 2018 season, has been sluggish until last year. After undergoing rehabilitation after Tommy John surgery in 2018, he returned to pitching last year, but was sluggish (average ERA of 37.80) and had to stop playing. It was a problem that was less than the debut season. His fastball redemption fell from 96.7 miles to 93.8 miles, and he didn’t get the ball back in its prime. His batting average was only 0.190 OPS and 0.657, which overshadowed Lee Do-ryu’s reputation.
To revive, Otani sought a solution during the off-season. According to sports media’The Athletic’, Otani visited Seattle’s driveline during off-season and corrected Touta’s form. Driveline is a place where players are guided based on data, and several major league players such as Trevor Bauer and Clayton Kershaw went through it.
The result was successful. In the demonstration game alone, he hit 0.552 and 5 homers in 12 games. Goo-wi has also returned. Otani, who recovered to an average of 95.3 miles in the last demonstration game, continued to hit the 100-mile high-speed ball that day, overpowering the White Sox hitters.
Otani is looking at evolution beyond resurrection. The Athletic explained, “The index that Otani is pursuing is the spin rate, which adds to the movement of the ball through rotational efficiency.” He will try to raise the pitch that has been evaluated as less powerful than restraint. In fact, the fastball Otani threw during the demonstration was an average of 2460 rpm, higher than the average of 2320 rpm in 2018. On this day, he once again proved his change by throwing a fastball of up to 2660rpm.
The last remaining task is my guts. During the 4⅔innings, you must reduce the number of walks given by five. The team is looking positively. Coach Joe Madden evaluated Otani, saying, “(The problem is with the fastball).” “I use the slider, curve, and splitter very well,” he said. “If you go where you only want the fastball, the other balls will get better with it,” he gave a positive outlook.
Intern reporter Cha Seung-yoon
