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[스포츠서울 윤세호기자] Something like a cartoon happened. The starting pitcher defeated the opponent with a 100-mile high-speed ball at the beginning of the first inning and then fired a home run from the at-bat at the end of the first inning. It’s not about amateur baseball. It happened in the world’s best league, the major league (ML).
Los Angeles Angels Otani Shohei ended an incredibly intense two-way start. On the 5th (Korean time), Otani made a name on the lineup as a starting pitcher and No. 2 designated hitter at the home game against the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, USA. In doing so, Otani has already made a page in history. The starter’s second batter in ML has not appeared since 1903.
At the time, Jack Dunleavy of the Cardinals was the starting pitcher and second batter, but he struggled with 12 hits on the mound, 7 runs, and 4 at-bats in the at-bat.
But Otani had a completely different start. In the first inning, he overpowered the opponent with a 100-mile fastball and 92-mile splitter. At the end of the first inning, he shot a solo cannon that went largely over the wall in the middle of the right by attacking the 97-mile fastball of the opponent starter Dylan Siege. It was a moment when a new page was decorated in baseball history, not only in ML, but throughout the world.
Otani, who entered the big league in 2018, played an active part in all of the tuta and took the rookie king. However, due to elbow surgery, he stopped pitching after September 3, 2018, and tried to double-pitch again last year, but he was sluggish both at the mound and at bat.
Nevertheless, he did not give up his tutoring career and predicted a rebound by recovering his arrest in this year’s demonstration game. And in the first game of this season, he made a perfect first inning that no one can overlook.