Angels Manager Explains Shohei Ohtani's Devious At-Bat Approach

Boy oh boy, do we miss the tough spirit that Logan O'Hoppe brought during that first month of the season! He was never scared to take a hit from a pitch if it meant he could get an easy way to first base and he was doing so at a historic rate before he went down with injury.

However, it's looking like Shohei Ohtani wants to continue his legacy in a bit of a different manner. There are few players that approach the plate the way that the 28-year-old superstar does so and it's been throwing off opposing catchers this year.

Most times a batter has reached base
this year due to catcher's interference:

5⃣ ----> Shohei Ohtani 😮
4⃣ ----> nobody
3⃣ ----> nobody
2⃣ ----> 6 players
1⃣ ----> 17 players pic.twitter.com/3Wk7J6dMAh
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 13, 2023

Ohtani is currently leading the league in bases reached by catcher interferences with a total of five already. It makes it even better when you watch the tape because he can immediately tell every time that the catcher gets in his way and points at him as he heads towards first base.

Anytime that a team has to face Ohtani, they dread it no matter whether they see him standing on the pitching mound or getting ready to swing. He is continuously trying to add new components to his game to make him more dangerous and it's noticeable in 2023 that he is standing a bit further back in the box so he has extra time to focus on the pitch.

Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout give the Angels some life in the bottom of the 9th. After Trout reached on a single, Ohtani drove them both in on a two-run home run. It's Ohtani's 8th home run of the season. pic.twitter.com/5sIZVw3Qyh
— Sarah Valenzuela (@Sarah_IsabelVee) May 10, 2023

Team manager Phil Nevin explained why catchers on other teams have been struggling to figure out this method from Ohtani.

“It’s his bat path,” Nevin said. “He loves to let the ball get deep, and he knows he can get balls deep in the contact space. If a catcher gets too close, it’s just part of it. He knows he can foul balls off back there. He’s not trying to hit the catcher, obviously, but he knows if he can get a piece of the bat on it, it can serve an at-bat.”

(Via The OC Register)

If it isn't broken, you definitely should not look to fix it. The Unicorn is going to keep doing what he's doing and everybody else has to adjust.