Shohei Ohtani is doing the impossible.
The two-way superstar made the All-Star Game as both a pitcher and hitter and is well on his way to his second American League MVP Award. There’s even some speculation that he could win the AL and NL MVP Awards if he were to be traded to a National League team.
What makes Ohtani so special isn’t just what he’s doing, but how he’s doing it.
Former MLB All-Star Bret Boone explained what he sees out of Ohtani on his Audacy Original Podcast “The Bret Boone Podcast” this week.
“Shohei, that smile, it seems that in a humble way, he realizes how ridiculous what he’s doing right now is. I think he sits there and pinches himself ‘I can’t believe I’m doing it at this high of a level,’” Boone said (14:25 in player above). “But it’s not in an arrogant way, it’s in a humble way.
“I see it when he steals a base. Like ‘Oh yeah, by the way, I can steal 20 as well.’ It’s almost like he steals second base, looks at the second baseman, I know what he’s thinking, ‘What can’t this guy do?’ But in a way, he smiles at him like ‘Man, I’m having fun. I don’t know how I do all this but I do it and I realize that I’m doing things that no one else has done before.’”
Through 94 games, Ohtani is batting .307 with a league-leading .680 slugging percentage and 1.07 OPS. He also leads the league with 35 home runs and seven triples. That speed is also on display on the basepaths, as Boone mentioned, with 11 steals on the year.
Of course, Ohtani is also having a pretty good year on the mound. He’s 7-5 with a 3.50 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 105 ⅓ innings.
Everyone is embracing Ohtani, especially with the trade deadline coming up, and the two-way star is embracing the game.
“It’s great because he’s doing what he’s doing. He’s such a big star,” Boone continued. “He’s doing it in a real little kid type way and it’s refreshing, and for older ex-players to watch him, it’s pretty awesome.”
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