Pitching and slugging sensation Shohei Ohtani has become the MLB's home-run leader by swinging at ludicrous pitches
- Los Angeles Angels pitcher-slugger Shohei Ohtani leads the majors in home runs.
- Ohtani took the lead on Monday night by swinging at a preposterously high pitch.
- In addition to being baseball's most dangerous hitter right now, Ohtani also has a 100-mph fastball.
Shohei Ohtani is on an absolute tear.
The Los Angeles Angels' pitching and slugging sensation hit his 13th homer of the MLB season on Monday night to become the new league leader in dingers.
Ohtani is not your run-of-the-mill big-league hitter. While other sluggers are mostly found playing first base or in the outfield, Ohtani's position is at pitcher, where he has a 100-mph fastball at his disposal. But his bat is so valuable that when he's not pitching, he serves as a designated hitter for the Angels. Not since Babe Ruth has the sport seen a player capable of such domination.
Ohtani's Monday home run came in absurd circumstances. With two runners on, Cleveland pitcher Sam Hentges delivered a high fastball well out of the strike zone. Rather than take the ball and wait for a better pitch to hit, Ohtani snatched the ball out of the air with his bat and sent it into oblivion.
It was a blistering display of power, but far from the only one Ohtani has flaunted in the past few days.
On Sunday, the Angels found themselves down to their last out in a series against the Boston Red Sox, trailing by one with a runner on first. Ohtani stepped to the plate and slapped a shot out of the park to give the Angels the lead.
Just two days before that, Ohtani shrugged a slider outside the zone over Boston's iconic Green Monster for another home run.
Viewed together, these swings showcase Ohtani's overwhelming power. He's impossible to pitch around.
If a pitcher tries to go high against him, Ohtani will chase the pitch down and send it out of the park like a bullet. If they try to pitch away from him, he's strong enough to make what looks like a gapper coming off the bat leave the park.
Ohtani has become the most dangerous hitter in the league while sporting a 2.10 ERA that puts him on par with three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer. He's doing things that baseball hasn't seen in 100 years, and it's impossible to look away.