Ohtani was holding back tears at the end of the game pic.twitter.com/VjBgrzDuTI
— zach (@zachleft) August 4, 2023
Shohei Ohtani, the "second knife runner" of the Angels, hit the 40th bomb of the season the day before yesterday, and even pitched four innings without losing points. Unfortunately, the bullpen was weak and the sailors won 5-3. Otani was also photographed in the rest area fighting back tears and looking at the court. Some fans pointed out that Otani is a person who can express his feelings, like wiping his tears when he won the championship in the classic. This is just an ordinary regular season in early August, but it is not the first time that his hard work can’t save the team’s frustration.
USA-Today writer Charles Curtis analyzed: "Did Otani play the best season in major league history? His current WAR (Winning Contribution) is 8.7, which leads the league, and his single-season record is 11.9 in the year of Barry Bonds’ 73 boom. But seeing Otani’s performance and other data with his own eyes, his home run, third base hit, long hit rate, attack index, base hit number, standardized attack index, four bad walks and base attendance rate are all the highest in the American League. 」
This article believes that Otani’s performance this season can be described as the best in history. Angels may not make the playoffs. Although it is only early August, it can’t be asserted, but the situation seems very bad. Fans lamented on the Internet that Otani was an unprecedented first-class player, but it would certainly feel wronged to waste the peak season of his career on a team that could not compete for the championship. Some fans jokingly wrote: "He couldn’t help crying because he thought that he would stay in the angel after the trading deadline. 」
There are three teams, the Red Sox, the Yankees and the Mariners, standing in the way between the Angel and the last seat of the American League wild card, but it’s not impossible to catch up. The Angel also strengthened before the trade deadline, and it will take some time to see the effect.