‘Tornado’ Ohtani’s perfect June…MVP monopoly
The Los Angeles Angels’ Ohtani, who is literally more cartoonish than cartoonish, has dominated the weekly and monthly MVP awards. The Angels are playing a three-game series against Kim Ha-seong’s team, the San Diego Padres. The first game was a decision win for Kim. Reporter Park Soo-joo.”Who else?” was the reaction from the Major League Baseball office when they announced Ohtani’s monthly MVP honor. Ohtani, who finished the month with a 3-for-9 record while exploding for 15 home runs, was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player. Most notably, he posted a combined on-base percentage and slugging percentage of 1.444, which only four players in major league history have posted higher monthly numbers, including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The weekly MVP honors also belonged to Ohtani. That’s because in his only game as a starter last week, he pitched 6 1/3 innings, striking out 10 and allowing one run, while hitting two home runs to lead his team to victory. Only five players in Major League Baseball history have ever struck out 10 as a pitcher and hit multiple home runs as a batter in the same game. After making major league history, Ohtani also started at the plate against San Diego on the 4th. However, in his three at-bats, he was only able to draw two walks. San Diego’s Kim extended his hitting streak to three games with a 1-for-5 performance. His defensive play stood out, as he snagged a high fly ball in a straight line in the second inning. Kim will face off against Ohtani in the fifth inning. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kershaw has been hampered by injuries again. Kershaw, who was unable to complete a full season due to frequent injuries from 2020 to last year, signaled his resurgence by leading the National League in wins in the first half of this year. But a 15-day stint on the disabled list with a sore left shoulder ended his All-Star appearance.