WATCH: Shohei Ohtani steals home in Angels’ win over Yankees
Written by Luck Wilson on September 1, 2021
The 2021 season for Angels superstar and MVP front-runner Shohei Ohtani has basically been an emphatic “no” to the question, “is there anything on a baseball field he can’t do?” We can add another feat to the list after seeing what he pulled off in the bottom of the fifth inning Tuesday against the Yankees in a 6-4 win.
Ohtani stole home.
Now, as can be seen from the video footage, it’s not a straight steal of home but instead a first-and-third play that is attempted every single time there are runners on first and third in Little League. The higher level we go, the tougher it is to pull off from the runner on third base. It’s incredibly impressive for Ohtani to score on a play like this in the majors.
Just running back through everything he’s doing this year is worthwhile, too, so we don’t start to take for granted just how insane this is.
That was Ohtani’s 21st stolen base of the season. He leads the majors in home runs with 42 and paces the AL in slugging percentage. He’s also 8-1 with a 3.00 ERA on the mound, where he’s struck out 127 hitters in 105 innings. It has seemed impossible for one player to do all this in a season for upwards of 100 years and he’s doing it. Just try this sentence on for size: The best power hitter in baseball, who is also an All-Star-caliber pitcher, just stole home.
Amazing, right?
It’s a shame the Angels aren’t in playoff contention. Thanks in part to major injuries to Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, they are mired in mediocrity. Thanks to Ohtani, though, they are one of the most fun teams in baseball to watch. See Exhibit ZZZ above for the latest evidence.
KVSP