Shohei Ohtani had one of the most incredible seasons in MLB history this year, and there are likely many secrets to the Los Angeles Angels star’s success. David Ortiz says he knows one of them, and it has nothing to do with baseball.
Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez discussed why Ohtani will likely win the AL MVP Award during a segment on FOX Sports this week. A-Rod mentioned how he is so impressed with Ohtani for coming over to the United States by himself from Japan and establishing himself as a two-way MLB star. Rodriguez then said how difficult it is to prepare for both hitting and pitching, and Ortiz joked that “you gotta be single to do that.”
Here’s the video:
ARod & Big Papi on Shohei Ohtani and his INCREDIBLE season:@AROD: “We talk how hard it is to prepare for 11 pitchers. Now imagine having to start 25 games on the mound too”@davidortiz: “You have to be single”
FULL ep: https://t.co/KWOZf9TGcb
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) October 14, 2021
Being single probably does help Ohtani focus, but we all know there’s a lot more to his unprecedented success than that. And if he keeps it up, he probably won’t be able to remain single for long.
Ohtani belted 46 home runs, drove in 100, scored 103 runs and had a .965 OPS this season. He also stole 26 bases and tied for the league lead with eight triples. As a pitcher, he was 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 130.1 innings. While some people have tried to turn the AL MVP discussion into a debate, there is no question Ohtani deserves the award.
