Angels News: Shohei Ohtani’s Former Manager Provides Insight on Load Management Decision
After another prolific effort from the runaway MVP favorite at this point, many are beginning to speculate the toll that Shohei Ohtani's massive workload has had on him this year.
Among those who are wondering about Ohtani's condition is his former manager Joe Maddon, who stated that he was surprised at how much of a load the Japanese sensation was carrying on his back.
Ohtani's admission to fatigue to current Halos skipper Phil Nevin is disappointing for fans used to seeing his best, but more than understandable given his contributions to the team this year.
Holding the American League lead in home runs while simultaneously being one of the best pitchers in baseball would be too much for most major leaguers on both sides of the ball.
Yet, Ohtani continues to defy imagination by hitting and pitching as one of the league's very best, perhaps to his own detriment.
Maddon expanded on his thoughts about an earlier doubleheader against the Tigers that Anaheim won on the back of their two-way sensation.
"I was surprised because I was curious. I was curious what was gonna happen in game 2, then I see that he went off offensively. After that first game I was really curious. Playing Detroit you like to believe that you could set this lineup up a little bit differently. That'd be the perfect opportunity to give him a little bit of a blow."
Anaheim's heavy reliance on their superstar with their slew of injuries isn't anything unfamiliar to the team as Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon have both suffered ailments over the past few seasons to ruin their own playoff chances.
Sadly it's a similar story this season as Ohtani's play has been spectacular, but his team still sits far below the playoff ranks thus far.
