All-star starter Shohei Ohtani of the Angels delivers a pitch. (Photos courtesy Angels Communications)
Ohtani, the Major League home run leader, gets the start on the mound Tuesday at Coors Field.
Orange County baseball fans and those around the world will be following the developments of Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who has been named to start on the mound for the American League in Tuesday’s Major League all-star game at Coors Field in Denver. Ohtani will also hit in the game.
Ohtani, who leads the Major Leagues with 33 home runs, will also compete in the home run derby Monday night.
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Ohtani becomes the sixth Angels pitcher to start an all-star game. The other Angels were Ken McBride (1963), Dean Chance (1964), Nolan Ryan (1979), Mark Langston (1993) and Jered Weaver (2011), according to a release from the Angels Monday.
Ohtani would also become the first Angels pitcher to appear in an all-star game since Weaver pitched an inning in relief in 2012, the release added. The only other Japanese-born pitcher to start an all-star game was Hideo Nomo for the National League in 1995.
In addition, the Angels star is the first player in MLB history to be named an all-star as both a position player and a pitcher. He was selected via fan voting as the starting designated hitter for the American League and was also chosen as a pitcher by player balloting.
In 13 games as a pitcher this season, Ohtani has a 4-1 record with a 3.49 ERA. In 67 innings, he has allowed 26 earned runs). He also has 87 strikeout and opposing teams are batting just .195.
Ohtani has held opponents to an .080 (6/75) batting average against his splitter this season, which is the best mark in the Majors for any pitch (minimum 75 PA ending on the pitch), according to the Angels release.
Ohtani has also recorded remarkable numbers at the plate. He finished the first half leading the Majors in home runs (33), extra-base hits (56), total bases (210) and slugging (.698), ranked second in OPS (1.062), third in RBI (70), tied for fourth in triples (4) and tied for sixth in runs scored (65).
Ohtani also had 12 stolen bases, which is tied for eighth in the American League. His 33 home runs are the most before the al-star break in Angels history and he is the first player in Major League history to have 33 plus home runs and 12 plus stolen bases before the all-star break, the release added.
No pitcher has ever hit a home run in the all-star game and the last pitcher to have a hit in the all-star game was Charles Nagy (a single) of the American League in 1992, according to the Angels release.
The home run derby will be carried live on ESPN Monday night from 5 to 7 p.m. while the All-Star Game will be teleivsed live on Fox-Channel 11 Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
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—-Story courtesy Angels Communications
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