It's been nearly 100 years since we've seen anyone come even close to doing what Shohei Ohtani has done already this season.
The 23-year-old Angels rookie from Japan has taken Major League Baseball by storm, with his bat and his arm.
On Sunday, Ohtani capped off arguably the greatest week in baseball history, carrying a perfect game into the seventh inning, and striking out 12 Oakland A's in seven scoreless frames to improve to 2-0 as a pitcher.
That performance followed a three-game stretch that saw Ohtani go 6-for-13 at the plate with three home runs and seven RBI. If MLB awarded individual hitter and pitcher of the week awards, he would likely win both.
The numbers are truly staggering. As a pitcher, Ohtani's two wins are tied for the most in MLB, while his three home runs are tied for fifth among all hitters.
He has 18 strikeouts, fifth-most in baseball, while ranking seventh in the American League with a .389 batting average.
Ohtani's 2.08 ERA is better than Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber. His .889 slugging percentage ranks higher than Kris Bryant, Mike Trout, and Aaron Judge.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Ohtani is just the third player in MLB history to record two wins and hit three home runs in his team's first 10 games of a season, and the first to do it since Jim Shaw in 1919.
While Ohtani's numbers at the plate may drop off as opposing pitchers continue to scout him and discover his weak spots, he appears to be unhittable on the mound. On Sunday, he painted the corners with his 99 mph fastball, while his splitter forced 16 swings and misses out of 21 pitches. Mix in a nasty curveball and you can see why he only allowed one hit in seven innings.
Before even beginning his MLB career, Ohtani was dubbed the “Japanese Babe Ruth,” an impossible nickname to live up to. Incredibly, Ohtani hasn't just lived up to the hype, he has exceeded it.
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