Shohei Ohtani (29, Los Angeles Angels) had the best season of his career at the plate in 2021, hitting 46 home runs and 100 RBIs, but he ultimately didn’t win the title. Despite being named the unanimous Most Valuable Player (MVP), there were players who were slightly better than Ohtani based on pure hitting performance.
At the time, Ohtani was in a tight home run race with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of Toronto, but he came up a little short at the end. Guerrero Jr. hit 48 home runs, and Salvador Perez (Kansas City), who picked up the pace late in the season, tied him for the home run lead. Ohtani was third behind the two.
However, Ohtani is on pace to quench his home run thirst this year. He’s been firing on all cylinders since the beginning of the season, and with no signs of slowing down, he’s on pace to reach 40 home runs.
As of July 30, Ohtani has played in 103 games with a .302 batting average, 39 home runs, 81 RBIs, and a 1.083 OPS. He currently leads the American League in home runs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and OPS. It’s even more impressive that he’s doing it while doubling as a starting pitcher.
The iconic home run king is one step closer. Lewis Roberts (Chicago White Sox) is currently second in the American League in home runs behind Ohtani with 29. He’s already 10 behind Ohtani. In the National League, Matt Olson (Atlanta) is second with 33. At this point, a six-point gap is not that close.
At one point, there was speculation that the American League’s all-time home run record, set by Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) last year, would be broken in a single year. Judge hit 62 home runs last year, the most in a single season in American League history and, naturally, the most by a New York Yankees franchise. There were plenty of comparisons to Ohtani’s arithmetic home run pace.
Judge didn’t show much home run velocity at the beginning of last year, but then he exploded for home runs in May and early June. His home run pace picked up again in mid-July, and he kept pace from late August through mid-September, eventually hitting 62 home runs.
So what are the home run totals for Judge and Ohtani simply based on where they are now? Judge hit 43 home runs in 102 individual games through 105 team games last year. He had 93 RBIs and an OPS of 1.062.
Through 30 days and 105 team games, Ohtani has 39 home runs, 81 RBI, and an OPS of 1.083 in 103 individual games. His OPS is slightly higher than what it was at that point in Jersey, but he has more home runs and RBIs. Even with this kind of power, Ohtani’s numbers are still a bit off of Jersey’s.카지노사이트
However, there is still quite a bit of season left. While it’s true that Jersey has the lead through 105 games, we don’t know what will happen from here. Judge also had trouble adding home runs at the end of last year’s season due to record pressure and opposition. With their home run cycles being quite different at this point in the year, the opportunity could come for Ohtani. It’s a good point that it doesn’t come around every year, so you have to take it while you can.
The most important thing is to avoid injury. Injuries were the difference between Judge being able to set a home run record last year, and his home run race being derailed this year. Last year, Jersey stayed healthy for 157 games. This year, however, he was sidelined for an extended period of time with an injury while playing defense, and he fell out of the home run race altogether. As both a pitcher and a hitter, Ohtani is at a higher risk of injury than other players.