Sometimes you tip your cap, and typically that's enough. Then Shohei Ohtani shows up, a puppet master at work, and you remove your cap to have him sign it. Even as he pulls your strings and the audience gasps, even as he steals your stage one stunt at a time, you wonder if the spectacle is worth it. Because when are you going to see this act again?
When are you going to see another player twirl an eight-inning gem to lower his season ERA to 2.79 on the same night that he sends a ball into orbit for his MLB-leading 40th homer of the year? When are you going to see Babe Ruth come back to life? When are you going to see another Shohei Ohtani, if not right here, right now?
"He’s an incredible, special talent," A.J. Hinch said after the Tigers' 3-1 loss to the Angels. "And we got to witness it, unfortunately at our expense."
I don't know. No one likes to lose, but what's one loss if it comes bearing gifts? Anyone at Comerica Park Wednesday night was fortunate to be there, even Robbie Grossman who was 0-4 against Ohtani's arm, even Jose Cisnero who was bludgeoned by Ohtani's bat. There were MVP chants in the crowd as Ohtani rounded the bases after his 430-foot blast in the eighth inning, and I'm not sure all of them came from fans in red.
Most fans showed up Wednesday hoping for history. Miguel Cabrera couldn't come through, but they got history just the same. Ohtani has a lower ERA this season than both Gerrit Cole and reigning AL Cy Young Shane Bieber and he has more home runs than Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton combined. We are witnessing history every time we witness him play. Even if he took the loss in one of his best starts of the season, Tarik Skubal was fortunate to be there, too.
"What he’s doing on the mound and then what he does at the plate is unbelievable to watch," Skubal said. "For him to do it all year long, lead the league in home runs and have a 2.7 ERA, it’s not real. It doesn’t feel real."
After the sixth inning, Skubal said he looked up at Ohtani's pitch count on the scoreboard. He swears Ohtani had thrown a total of seven balls. In truth, Ohtani had thrown 12. The man so often defies logic he makes us bend it even further. Balls, strikes, it didn't matter what Ohtani threw to the Tigers. He got strikeouts with fastballs, splitters and sliders, and his last one came on a 98 mph heater that sprung from his hand in the eighth.
"You could see him hit another gear toward the middle part of the game and then even another gear toward the end of the game," said Hinch. "He threw soft early and pounded heavy velocity late. A very artful way of pitching in knowing his strengths and what he was trying to do throughout the game.
"He can dial it up, and not everybody can do that. He’s got a second and third gear, and I’m talking about his arm and I’m talking about his bat."
Ohtani, 27, was dragged into a silly controversy Tuesday night when Tigers color commentator Jack Morris used a potentially racist accent when Ohtani was at the plate. Morris was suspended indefinitely by Bally Sports Detroit; Ohtani, unfazed, unfurled every wrinkle of his talent a day later. He said he saw the footage and heard it, and then followed the high, graceful path of his own home run.
"Personally, I'm not offended and I didn't take anything personally," Ohtani told reporters through a translator. "He is a Hall of Famer. He has a big influence in the baseball world. It's kind of a tough spot."
There was no better spot in baseball Wednesday night than Comerica Park. You were lucky if you were there, and that includes every member of the Tigers. Ohtani painted a masterpiece, with two brushes at once. The man who leads the majors in homers now also leads the AL in batting average against. It's a dream that's real, history that's living, a loss that doesn't sting.
"If you take away the agony of losing, it’s just incredible to see what he’s doing," said Hinch. "A real big piece of why baseball’s great."
I don't know. I'd take the loss for the show, and I'd ask the man who doffs his cap to umpires if he could scrawl his name on mind.