Shohei Ohtani Joins Just 1 Other MLB Icon in Elite Company With Yet Another Staggering Performance

With only five years in Major League Baseball, Shohei Ohtani has become a name that needs no introduction. In his brief playing career in Nippon Professional Baseball and MLB, Ohtani has garnered a lot of success. From winning Rookie of the Year and AL MVP in MLB to lifting the World Baseball Classic trophy, Shotime has indeed come a long way. While doing so, the Angels’ star has become the apple of the eye of millions of baseball fans.

Now, after setting an outlandish statistic, the Los Angeles Angels phenom, Shohei Ohtani, has joined the 8x All-Star Nolan Ryan in an elite category. With a long and wondrous journey ahead, this might be just one of the many achievements in Ohtani’s list of accolades.

Shohei Ohtani knows how to steal the show

Ryan played for the Los Angeles Angels from 1972 to 1979, which was back then known as California Angels. During his tenure with the Angels, Ryan won countless awards and set a few records as the Angels’ ace. One of those was to struck out 97 through 10 starts in 1978.

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And now, over four decades later, the 28-year-old Shohei Ohtani has set a crazy statistic by breaking Ryan’s record. Despite the Angels’ subpar play of the season, Ohtani has become the first pitcher ever to have 80 strikeouts in their first 10 appearances of a season.

This is a massive achievement by Ohtani. And it once again has expanded Ohtani’s charm in baseball fans.

Is another MVP award coming for Ohtani?

As of today, Shohei Ohtani of the LA Angels is the only player in Major League Baseball history to have 10 or more home runs and 40 or more strikeouts as a pitcher. With a .287 batting average, Shohei has hit 11 home runs and has a record of 4-2, 49 strikeouts, with 17 walks in the season. He might have faced a lengthy slump, but still, he is looking at winning the MVP award for the second time in his MLB career.

All of these numbers make Shohei a legitimate candidate for the American League’s MVP award. However, whether Ohtani will be the sole contender in the MVP race is still uncertain and remains to be seen.

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By the way, do you think breaking this record would help Ohtani’s MVP candidature? If so, let us know in the comments below!