Shohei Ohtani, a secret WBC pitch limit? “If you make a mistake, you can go down to episode 1”.
LA Angels’ Ohtani Shohei (29) may not be able to throw many pitches in the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Nikkangendai, a Japanese media outlet, said on the 25th, “There is nothing to worry about.” There are no restrictions.’ But the inside was different, he said, adding that the Angels put a limit on Ohtani.
The WBC is a competition hosted by the WBCI created by the Major League Secretariat and the Players’ Union. Major League Baseball clubs do not restrict their players from participating in the tournament unless there are special reasons such as injuries. However, Otani has such a large proportion of his team and has a special feature of pitching and hitting, so there is a lot of room for the Angels to actively intervene in the recruitment method.
The media said, “The Angels intend to limit the use of Ohtani Shohei,” adding that the Angels limited the number of Ohtani’s pitches. The official said, “What the Angels want to limit is the number of pitches. I think I want to limit the number of pitches thrown in the first game to a considerable extent. As far as I know, it has already been told to Japan. “I don’t know specifically, but I heard the number of pitches that could end in the first inning if I started and walked consecutively or got consecutive hits,” he said.
Otani, who won the 2021 American League MVP unanimously, batted .273 (160 hits in 586 at-bats) 34 home runs and 95 RBIs in 157 games as a batter, and played 28 games (166 innings) with 15 wins and 9 losses and a 2.33 ERA. His annual salary this season is $30 million (about 37 billion won), one of the most important key players in the Angels.
Nikkangendai said, “Anyway, Shohei Otani will receive an annual salary of $30 million this season. If the pillar of pitching and hitting just before the season is injured, it could be a matter of the team’s life and death. “In particular, pitchers will have limitations on how to use aces as they are burdened with shoulders and elbows,” he predicted.
Coach Hideki Kuriyama of the Japanese national team said, “In principle, I intend to use Ohtani as a designated hitter in all games.” Since the Otani rule is also introduced to the WBC, I want to make the most of the regulations. “At this point, I want to use Darvish Yu (San Diego), Yamamoto Yoshinobu (Orix), and Sasaki Rocky (Chiba Lotte) as starting pitchers and as designated hitters in every game at the same time,” he said, expressing his plan for Ohtani’s appointment.
Nikkangendai said, “Coach Kuriyama said he will discuss with major league clubs when major league players will join and when they will play in actual games. However, there is a big difference between the Angels and Ohtani, the best player in the national team. The Japanese national team is basically borrowing players from its team, although it will find a consultation point through dialogue in the future. “As the initiative is in the club that pays the players salaries, attention is being paid to how far they can get concessions,” he said, predicting that the Angels may not easily allow Ohtani’s pitching and hitting.