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This morning should have been a great wake up with Friday and the weekend knockin' on the front door. Instead baseball fans wake up heartbroken, worrying; and straight up angry. Baseball gods, why? Why must you do this to us. Right as things were good.
In a devastating development for the baseball world, Shohei Ohtani has torn his UCL for the second time in his career, not even a month since the trade deadline- bringing that whole debacle full circle. Two historic doubleheaders, with one of them possibly altering the game as we know it, and not in a positive manner.
After the Angels announced that they would not be trading Ohtani, the two-way superstar had one of the greatest doubleheaders in baseball history against the Tigers. In the first game, Ohtani threw a one-hit, complete game shutout, the first of his career; in the second, he hit two homers to complete a sweep of Detroit. Arguably the greatest doubleheader by a player, ever. The other doubleheader didn't have the same joy.
27 days later the Angels had another doubleheader (vs CIN), one of the most depressing doubleheaders of all time. Ohtani was pulled from the first game due to arm fatigue, then was put in to bat DH the second game. Damn the Angels. Damn them to hell. Shohei went 1 for 5 and you could tell there was an issue with him by watching his body language after he hit his double. Then the injury announcement after the game. The best story in baseball, one of the best stories in sports, is in legitimate peril of being damaged. A generational talent unlike any other, now sees his future facing major concerns. If his story is affected by this, then it will be one of the most disappointing ends to a tale of all-time. I can't even fathom thinking about it.
Shohei was well en route to another MVP, as he has had the greatest two-way season of all-time, proving to be the most valuable, & the best baseball talent on planet Earth. Ohtani is the first player in MLB history to have 40 HR as a batter and 10 wins as a pitcher in a season. Now he won't pitch again this season, and quite possibly may never pitch again.
If Ohtani does in fact need Tommy John surgery again, then I am worried on his future. We could quite possibly never see him at this level again. Here is what that smug bas**** of a GM had to say regarding the injury:
"It is what it is"... hah, ok. I will say the same line when you get canned, joker. I'm sure Ohtani feels that, it is what it is, towards his impending free agency. Speaking of a bummer- Ohtani's looming free agency just got extremely complex. This injury, if he gets Tommy John again, could cost up to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Ohtani will likely continue to play DH this season; as we’ve seen from Bryce Harper and others, Tommy John surgery shouldn’t affect his swing, much. But it is one thing to agree to a huge contract with the unicorn of baseball, a player who is two players in one. It is another to sign a huge contract with a guy who can only play DH. Ohtani is one of, if not the best hitters in baseball, but as someone who can’t play the field (who can’t actually throw for a year, maybe more), there is now a ceiling to him. That ceiling won't cost north of $500-600Ms. Ohtani's contract was going to move tectonic plates in the thinking of contracts in The Big 4. Would have been the largest deal ever- now that's in peril. If Ohtani can't pitch again, or at an elite level, he just lost 200-500 million dollars. Giving the Angels better odds of keeping him.
Ohtani was starting to be considered as the greatest pitching/power punch in baseball history, now we will be looking at him as one of the game’s elite hitters, but having no idea whether he’ll again be dominant on the mound. All over night. What a rotten reality.
Only time will tell if we see Shohei captivate the world with his gift of being our modern-day Babe Ruth (better). But this news sucks. In every way. Just when baseball was hittin' strides unlike any other, with a face of the league rising, we get hit in the heart. I sent this tweet just hours before his injury news:
Losing Ohtani as a two-way phenom will drastically hurt the world of baseball. Injuries blow. Hopefully Ohtani won't need surgery, but I bet he does. I just hope we didn't just witness his ceiling due to this. Return to form, king. The baseball world needs you. I'm going out to cry.
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