Shohei Ohtani of the Major League Baseball Angels is the first all-star game in history to play in the dual wield style of pitching, and he became the winning pitcher by playing head-to-head with the star players as both a pitcher and a batter.
Looking back on the two fulfilling days including the home run competition, "It was a wonderful experience that made me think that I could come again", I will face the second half of the season starting three days later.
A new page in the history of Major League Baseball
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which was held for the first time in two years, has become a historic "Midsummer Festival" with special rules applied to realize Otani's dual wield outflow.
Otani wore an American League uniform designed in dark blue on both the top and bottom, and first entered the turn at bat as the first designated hitter in the top of the first inning.
The National League starting pitcher is Scherzer of the Nationals, who became the starting pitcher's mound for the Cy Young Award three times and the All-Star game for the fourth time.
"The pitcher I've been watching on TV for a long time" and Otani were looking forward to the match, and although he swung from the first ball, he fouled a straight of 154 km and was pushed by a cut ball of 148 km of the second ball, and the second goro I fell down.
At the end of the match, he said, "It was a really good ball when I stood in the at-bat, and it was a ball that I couldn't hit easily even if I knew all the types of balls. The form was unique and it was difficult to get a distance." I was praising the greatness of the representative pitcher.
Behind the scenes, this time he went up to the starting mound, which is the second Japanese player since Hideo Nomo, and rejected the top hits of Padres' Tatis Jr., Dodgers' Muncie, and Cardinals' Arenado. ..
The fastest straight was 161.2km, and Otani, who showed his strength, said, "I usually don't aim for three strikeouts from the first time, but today I aimed for everything. Even if I throw a good ball, I will be in good contact, as expected. I thought, "he said.
In the second at-bat in the third inning, he fell to the first grounder and this was the last at-bat, and there was no hit, but in the second inning after getting off the mound, the American League took the lead and kept the lead as it was, so Otani This is the second Japanese player to win since Masahiro Tanaka.
Otani, who responded to the interview behind the bench immediately after the change, said, "I had the rules changed and I was allowed to stand two at bats. I think it's quite difficult in such a traditional place. Thank you for letting me do it. "
Then, looking back on the two-sword outflow field of the home run competition and the two days that made a full turn more than any other player, "It was a wonderful experience that made me think that I could come again. I also learned a lot about what kind of practice I was doing. "
What impressed me when I covered the All-Star Game for the past two days was that all the top players who participated paid tribute to Otani's dual wield.
Otani, who heard the story, nodded strongly, "In Japan, there were only negative opinions about dual wield, so it is very grateful and encouraging to have the top players in the field say it."
"For now, I think it's the closest memory to coming to the major leagues, but I think it will be updated when it appears in the postseason and the World Series. Everyone is aiming for that, so I'd like to do my best in the second half." He talked about his thoughts on the playoff stage, which he had never stood on.
Otani, who started in the all-star game as the most notable player of each team and marked a new page in the history of the major leagues by both pitchers and batters, will start three days later. We aim for the next big stage in the second half of the game.