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Cerritos College • Norwalk, Calif.

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Cerritos College • Norwalk, Calif.

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Off The Field: Shohei Ohtani is MVP bound

Angels+slugger%2Fpitcher+Shohei+Ohtani+hits+a+home+run+to+bring+the+Angels+ahead+of+the+Dodgers+in+the+seventh+inning+at+Angel+Stadium+Sunday%2C+July+8%2C+2018+in+Anaheim%2C+Calif.+The+Dodgers+won%2C+4-3.+%28Allen+J.+Schaben%2FLos+Angeles+Times%2FTNS%29+Photo+credit%3A+Allen+J.+Schaben%2FLos+Angeles+Times%2FTNS
Angels slugger/pitcher Shohei Ohtani hits a home run to bring the Angels ahead of the Dodgers in the seventh inning at Angel Stadium Sunday, July 8, 2018 in Anaheim, Calif. The Dodgers won, 4-3. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS) Photo credit: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Shohei Ohtani has the MVP award in the bag and if another player is voted to win, it would be the biggest upset in the history of baseball.

Ohtani was feasting all season on the pitching mound and in the batter’s box. Normally a player in the MLB is good at one position, but we are seeing a player excel in both.

No one has seen a player be dominant in both positions besides Babe Ruth when he first started as a pitcher, but after that no player was a two-way.

Fast forward to today we have a two-way player who finished his season on the mound with 23 starts, 9-2 record, had a 3.18 ERA (earned run average), 1.090 WHIP (walks and hits per innings), and had hitters hit a .207 batting average against him.

This lead him to start the All star game as a pitcher and batter, the first time it has been done in the history of the sport.

He put up a good season on the mound with him being the ace of the Angels and one of the best competitive pitchers in the American League.

Another thing that is overlooked by him is his speed. He is arguably the fastest player in the AL at the moment with 26 stolen bases on the year. He gets down the line to first base at sprint speed of 28.8 ft/sec.

His defense is good enough to keep him in the lineup with his bat, and switched from pitching to the outfield various times to still be able to hit.

With his hitting this season he had one of the best seasons a hitter could ever have, but remember he is also a pitcher.

This pitcher would end up hitting a total of 46 home runs, 257 batting average, and 100 RBI becoming a top batter in the American League.

Finishing third in the home run race behind Salvador Perez, Royals, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bluejays, who both had 48 home runs.

The race was very close between Vladimir and Ohtani as it seemed in the beginning and in the middle of the season. Vladimir was having himself a MVP season as well with leading the league in everything.

He was on his way to triple crown season, but towards the end lost his fire. He wasn’t bad but was not that hot of hitter he was at the beginning.

Ohtani had a incredible season that could’ve been for two players, we the baseball fans had never seen anything before.

It was incredible to watch even if your not a fan of the Angels, we all saw history in the making.

He does deserve to win the award, and has more seasons to come to shock us by whatever he does.

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About the Contributor
Isaiah Lonvelin, Co-Sports Editor
Isaiah Lonvelin is the sports co-editor for Talon Marks. He plans on transferring to Cal State Long Beach or Cal State Fullerton to pursue a Bachelor’s in journalism. He enjoys watching baseball and football.
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Off The Field: Shohei Ohtani is MVP bound