Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani to start at pitcher, bat leadoff for AL in MLB All-Star Game

Shohei Ohtani, who is a Japanese professional baseball player, will start at pitcher and bat leadoff for the American League in the MLB All-Star Game.

The mlb all-star game 2021 is the next event in Major League Baseball. The MLB All-Star Game will take place on July 10, 2021 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.

DENVER (AP) — In Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game from Coors Field, Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Angels’ extraordinary two-way star, will start on the mound and bat leadoff for the American League All-Stars, a fitting homage to his almost unparalleled first-half performance.

Ohtani, who will face Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals, was chosen as the opening designated hitter by the fans and as one of five starting pitchers by the players. Manager Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays, who will lead the AL team, said he “took that to heart” while deciding to start Ohtani.

Cash said, “This is what the fans want to see.” “It’s what I want to see personally.”

1 Related

On Monday night, Ohtani, the first player ever chosen to pitch and bat in an All-Star Game, will also lead the Home Run Derby lineup. Cash claimed he “begged” Major League Baseball to change a long-standing regulation and classify Ohtani as both a pitcher and a designated hitter (DH) for Tuesday’s lineup, allowing Cash to replace Ohtani with a fresh DH instead of using a pinch-hitter every time he came out of the game.

Ohtani stated via his translator, Ippei Mizuhara, who will also act as his catcher for the Home Run Derby, “I was not anticipating to be selected as a pitcher at all.” “It’s a tremendous honor.”

Ohtani is the second Japanese player to start an All-Star Game, after Hideo Nomo, who started for the National League in 1995 while representing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani has a.279/.364/.698 hitting line with four triples, 12 stolen bases, and a major league-leading 33 home runs, which is already a single-season record for a Japanese-born player. He has a 3.49 ERA in 67 innings pitched, with 87 strikeouts and 35 walks.

Dave Roberts, the manager of the National League club, was asked whether he thought Ohtani would be able to handle both duties at that level.

Roberts replied, “We did.” “We were looking for him.”

“We did, too!” The audience gathered around the impromptu press conference outside Coors Field laughed as Cash added.

Starting Ohtani not only enables MLB to completely display a guy who has undoubtedly become baseball’s most fascinating star, but it also avoids the logistical challenges of asking him to warm up in the midst of a game in which he is already hitting, something Ohtani is not used to.

“Not only do Dave and I have duties to safeguard our players, but we both have responsibilities to protect all players,” Cash added. “And I believe it made the most sense in terms of availability to ask him to perform something he has previously done rather than asking him to bat and pitch later in the game.”

Guerrero will bat second and play first base for the AL, followed by Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts, Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, Boston third baseman Rafael Devers, Toronto second baseman Marcus Semien, Blue Jays left fielder Teoscar Hernandez, and Baltimore center fielder Cedric Mullins.

San Diego shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. leads off the NL lineup, followed by Dodgers designated hitter Max Muncy, St. Louis third baseman Nolan Arenado, Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman, Cincinnati right fielder Nick Castellanos, Reds left fielder Jesse Winker, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto, and Pittsburgh second baseman Adam Frazier.

This article was written with the help of the Associated Press.

The shohei ohtani batting average is a statistic that shows how well a player has done in the time they have been playing. Shohei Ohtani will be starting at pitcher and batting leadoff for the AL in the MLB All-Star Game.

Related Tags

• ohtani all-star game
• angels all-stars 2021
• ohtani home run derby
• all-star game 2021 schedule
• ohtani all-star jersey