‘One of the best to ever play the game’-Pirates face Ohtani

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – ‘You’re talking about one of the best to ever play the game’.

Pirates manager Don Kelly bluntly about Los Angeles superstar Shohei Ohtani before the Pirates host the Dodgers on Wednesday night. It’s a player who is just 31-years-old, but even with all of the greats to play baseball, you don’t get much argument when discussing Shohei Ohtani. The reigning, and now three-time, National League MVP has led MLB in the following categories in the last few years—WAR, runs, triples, home runs, RBI, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS (4 straight years) and even stole 59 bases.

Now it seems as if he’s on a mission to win the National League Cy Young Award. In 10 starts this year, the right-handed pitcher is 6-2 with an 0.74 ERA. In 61 innings he’s allowed FIVE earned runs with 18 walks and 67 strikeouts. The WHIP is 0.78 and opposing hitters have a .144 average against him.

In his last four starts, Ohtani has allowed one run and struck out 23.

"I mean, it's pretty amazing,” Kelly said. “I was scouting before that and we had scouts that were going over in 2017 and they just talked about the elite talent. The thing that surprised me the most is his speed, how fast he is as a runner. For a guy that is that size, you see the arm strength and the power at the plate, but just the speed that he's able to run at, really, was amazing. Just seeing what he's been able to accomplish, we are talking about one of the best to ever play."

Again using that phrase—‘one of the best to ever play’.

Ohtani had a RBI double as part of the 10-run seventh inning for the Dodgers Tuesday night, hitting .313 in his career at PNC Park with a pair of home runs in only seven games. Overall against the Pirates, .291, four home runs, .984 OPS in 19 games.

As a pitcher against the Pirates, five runs allowed in 6.1 innings in his only game pitching against them and Wednesday is his first game pitching at PNC Park.

A few times Kelly said he’s one of the greatest ever, how do you keep it being another game with Ohtani pitching with the numbers he’s put up.

"I don't think in the moment because you're so consumed with preparing to go out and compete,” Kelly said. “I think that maybe those come later after the season or after, you know, when you're done playing as a player and you look back on those moments that guys that you got to face as a player, just I got to talk to Chris Sale when we were in Atlanta and when anybody ever asked me who was the toughest pitcher that you faced, for me it was Sale and so to get to talk to him, and I know guys will probably feel the same way later on in their careers after they're done playing against Ohtani."