Ohtani is also desperate. This year is the last time → No selection until May for the command tower...3 times MVP in 4 years → Will it be difficult to win the Cy Young Award?
Jan 06, 2025
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He has won the season MVP in three of the last four seasons. In particular, last year, he won the MVP with just a batter without 'Ido-ryu (same pitching).'
At one point, it was controversial in the local baseball community that Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) was said to be invincible in the MVP competition.
Since Ohtani's debut, U.S. baseball experts have advised him to `commit himself to hitters.' At that time, Ohtani's potential was based on the view that 'He can aim for a starter who has complied as a pitcher and an MVP as a batter'.
He is showing better performance than expected, but he is not far off as a result. However, few experts thought Ohtani would do 'both at once'
In 2022, Ohtani's best season, he played 166 innings in 28 games, going 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA. But the Cy Young Award belonged to Justin Verlander (Houston Astros). Verlander also faced criticism for having `too few innings' but beat Ohtani with an 18-4 record and a 1.75 ERA.
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On the other hand, Ohtani's presence last year was beyond imagination. Ohtani, who only devoted himself to hitters due to elbow injury, held the MVP in his arms by making the first 50 (homer)-50 (stealing) in Major League history, which was his dream record. It was literally a crazy season with a batting average of 310, 54 homers, 130 RBIs and 59 steals, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.036.
In particular, the success rate of 93.7% (59 successful attempts at 63 attempts) is phenomenal even in stolen bases close to 'Riot'. He showed Ohtani's power to give up the pitcher and focus only on the batter. Of course, the MVP belonged to Ohtani. He even had the joy of winning the World Series.
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However, Ohtani himself is already deeply aware of how much the parallel pitching at the top level of the league is too much for his body. It's literally breaking the limit. This is why his performance as a pitcher is up and down. Ohtani only played the regular innings once in 2022 as a pitcher. Other starters also have no reason to focus only on physical care for four to five days after taking the mound.
The aftereffects of the elbow surgery in 2023 are also questionable. The rehabilitation period of Tommy John (reconstructive elbow ligament joint surgery) is usually 1 year to 1 year and 6 months. However, Ohtani constantly hit and ran balls from major league pitchers over 160km during this period.
In the end, although the direction was different in the World Series, he also suffered a major injury to his left shoulder. This also did not avoid surgery.
Ohtani said ahead of the new year, "Maybe this year will be the last time Iro-ryu has ever seen this season" is the reason why he expressed a sense of crisis. According to Japanese media Sports Hochi, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also said in a meeting with Ohtani's teacher Hideki Kuriyama, "I will not use Ohtani as a starter until May."I promised.
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However, if so, there is a high possibility that the Cy Young Award, which Ohtani has not yet stepped on, will gradually move away. Now that Ohtani is over 30, as he said himself, the combination of pitching and hitting is expected to become increasingly difficult. In the long run, it is highly likely to focus on the batter's side.
Meanwhile, starting this year, Ohtani welcomed a new friend named Kim Hye-sung, a Kiwoom infielder. Korean fans are also showing keen interest in the chemistry between Kim Hye-sung and Ohtani.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
