At what age do you finally stop wearing a jersey of your favorite player? 18? Unlikely. 20? You can’t party in college without a throwback Indiana State Larry Bird Jersey. My answer is…….as soon as you graduate college. That was my thinking until a certain Japanese baseball player stole my heart and has me shopping for adult jerseys for the first time since 2014.
Shohei Ohtani may just be the greatest baseball player of all time. Through the All-Star break, his line reads .302/32hr/71rbi with an OPS of 1.050. His pitching line is 7-4, 3.32ERA and 132 strikeouts. I know there are more nerdy stats out there to support Ohtani’s case as the GOAT but I barely know what OPS is.
DINGERS
There is nothing more American than hitting a loud dinger. And the sound that follows an Ohtani home run swing can only remind me of a little tune written by Francis Scott Key. It reads “and the bombs bursting in air”. That song birthed freedom as we know it today. An Ohtani blast makes me feel the same way.
I know he struggled mightily in the Home Run derby a few years ago but this 2:20 clip of him launching the ball in Japan is legit.
I am so excited to see what he can do the second half of this 2023 season. If he can stay on a ridiculous 14-15 home run per month pace, he will have a shot to break Barry Bonds incredible, steroid infused record.
Not only has he put up incredible numbers, he has this 31 year old father of 3 thinking about maybe buying a jersey.
Post Blog Edit
So here’s the thing… I originally wrote this blog about 2 weeks ago and since then my guy Ohtani has made some more history. He played a double header against the Tigers yesterday and turned in an all time performance. He started the day off by firing 9 innings of 1-hit ball. He followed it up with 2 dingers in game 2 and then called it a day. Go ahead, get your adult jerseys for this man. He deserves it. I need the Twins to get him to Minneapolis by the deadline somehow.
29yo, 2 kids, former place kicker for the worst high school football team in Minnesota history. 2/2 xp, 0/2 field goals, led the state in total punts.