After being voted into his third consecutive All-Star Game as a representative of the Los Angeles Angels, Shohei Ohtani had the attention of both fans and many players in Seattle at T-Mobile Park.
Ohtani was voted in as the American League’s starting designated hitter following a landslide of fan votes, making him the first AL member as a guaranteed lock.
The 29-year-old has been in Major League Baseball since 2018, but he made himself known after winning the AL MVP in 2021, highlighting his complete two-way ability. Now in his third All-Star Game, Ohtani has a refined view on the showcase event.
“It’s definitely refreshing every time,” Ohtani said through a translator. “Not as nervous as my first time. It gets less nervous every time I make the All-Star team. But it’s definitely fun and refreshing.”
On Tuesday, AL Manager Dusty Baker penciled him into the second spot in the batting order, coming into the game with an otherworldly 1.050 on-base plus slugging this season. In his first at-bat, Ohtani made Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Gallen work, unfortunately striking out on a filthy curveball.
His second at-bat came in the bottom of the fourth inning against San Francisco Giants right-hander, Alex Cobb. Ohtani fell behind 1-2, but would ultimately work a walk, a less-climactic, but still positive way to impact the game.
“I definitely want to be aggressive and swing the bat and both of them, both at-bats went to full count, and I was ready to swing the bat,” Ohtani said. “But the last one was away, so.”
Cobb would hurl a wild pitch, allowing Ohtani to reach second base. This allowed for a chat between the Angels star and the Miami Marlins budding offensive guru Luis Arraez. The Marlins acquired Arraez in the offseason, and since then he’s compiled a .383 batting average at the midway point, the highest mark at the break since 2000.
Ohtani has shown his continued willingness to learn and watch the game’s best, and he spoke highly of Arraez and what he’s accomplished thus far.
“I think he got thrown out the inning before so he told me, ‘I need your legs to be safe next time,'” Ohtani said. “And every time I watch him on TV he gets base hits, like every single time. So it’s very, very impressive.”
The National League took down the AL in a 3-2 game after Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Díaz slugged a late-game go-ahead two-run home run. The power from Díaz not only provided the NL with enough to win the game, but gave him All-Star Game MVP honors.
Shohei Ohtani’s running mate Mike Trout was looking forward to playing in All-Star Game
Mike Trout was amongst the leading vote-getters from the original slate of voting, but he fractured his left hamate bone, putting him on the shelf for at least a month. The 31-year-old was having a solid season, but an injury once again took away another opportunity for the long-time star to showcase himself at the Midsummer Classic.
Prior to this injury, Trout expressed serious optimism over his health and was looking forward to starting in his first All-Star Game since 2019.
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