{"id":287249,"date":"2021-06-30T06:54:20","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T03:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/shohei-ohtanis-dominance-painful-reminder-for-yankees\/"},"modified":"2021-06-30T06:54:20","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T03:54:20","slug":"shohei-ohtanis-dominance-painful-reminder-for-yankees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/shohei-ohtanis-dominance-painful-reminder-for-yankees\/","title":{"rendered":"#Shohei Ohtani’s dominance painful reminder for Yankees"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Shohei Ohtani’s dominance painful reminder for Yankees<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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You can let your imagination run wild every which way when it comes to Shohei Ohtani and his alternate life as a Yankee.<\/p>\n

Did you see him go deep twice more Tuesday night against Jameson Taillon at Yankee Stadium, giving him three homers in two game<\/a>s here, only for the Yankees to prevail, 11-5, ending their losing streak at four? Man, does he make it look easy, flicking balls over the Yankees\u2019 inviting right-field wall. Would he make a run at Roger Maris\u2019 American League and franchise record of 61 in pinstrip<\/a>es?<\/p>\n

Then again, Ohtani\u2019s path to his current status as AL Most Valuable Player favorite has not been linear, not unlike how many of the Yankees\u2019 youngsters have swayed to and fro in their development. How would this demanding fan base have stomached Ohtani\u2019s brutal 2020 (.190\/.291\/.366 slash line and 37.80 ERA), and how would Ohtani have stomached the resulting agita?<\/p>\n

If nothing else, an Ohtani-Yankees union, even if it never attained this sort of peak in pinstripes, would\u2019ve kept Giancarlo Stanton\u2019s contract out of The Bronx, reason enough for the Steinbrenners to regard this swing and miss with great regret.<\/p>\n

Ohtani now leads the major leagues with 28 homers, and in his penultimate at-bat Tuesday, he sent Brett Gardner to the center-field warning track, at 388 feet considerably deeper than his first homer (356), for a long seventh-inning fly out; he grounded out to first to end the game, Luke Voit barely beating the speedster to the bag. He is a marvel offensively, a bundle of athleticism and excitement, and oh by the way, he\u2019ll start on the mound \u2014 and hit \u2014 for the Angels on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\"Shohei
Shohei Ohtani belts the second of his two homers in the Yankees\u2019 11-5 win over the Angels.<\/figcaption>
Bill Kostroun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTo see what he\u2019s doing this year, especially the last two nights, is pretty impressive,\u201d said Aaron Judge, who knocked a two-run homer for the Yankees. \u201cIt feels like any pitch that\u2019s over the plate, it\u2019s going to get hit and it\u2019s going to get hit hard. \u2026 He\u2019s a generational talent, that\u2019s for sure. We\u2019re excited to see him on the mound [Wednesday].\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is what baseball needs, both as a player and as an example,\u201d Angels manager Joe Maddon said. \u201cHe\u2019s all about the moment. He\u2019s prepared, he\u2019s ingratiating. \u2026 I enjoy watching him enjoy playing baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also, through no fault of his own, is a key figure in Yankees history.<\/p>\n

Remember the positive vibes percolating through Yankees Universe following the 2017 season? Sure, they had fallen short to the Astros, lasting seven games in the AL Championship Series<\/a>, but their future shined so bright, so many young, talented players driving the club\u2019s return to the playoffs. And with word that Ohtani would leave his native Japan to put himself up for bidding, the Yankees loomed as the perceived favorite due to their immense popularity in the Far East.<\/p>\n

However, shortly after the Yankees sent their recruitment materials to Ohtani\u2019s agency, they received word that they didn\u2019t so much as make the first cut, a huge disapp<\/a>ointment. Did that disappointment fuel them toward pursuing another star in Stanton, albeit one costing more than 10 times as much as Ohtani?<\/p>\n

Think of how DJ LeMahieu\u2019s hitting approach, heavy on contact, balanced the Yankees\u2019 offense when he arrived on the scene in 2019. Now envision Ohtani \u2014 lefty, fast and a pitcher to boot \u2014 and the sort of balance he\u2019d provide, all the more so with the Yankees able to diversify their commitment to Stanton.<\/p>\n