SHOHEI OHTANI – MAKING HISTORY

The 28-year-old reigning A.L. MVP and 2018 A.L. Rookie of the Year has completed his 2022 season with a 15-9 record with a 2.33 ERA (166 IP – 43 ER) and 219 strikeouts in 28 pitching starts, while holding opponents to a .203 average (124/610). As a hitter, he had 90 runs scored, 30 doubles, six triples, 34 home runs, 95 RBI, 72 walks, 11 stolen bases and a .875 OPS. Below are some additional accomplishments this season:

FIRST PLAYER EVER…

• Is the only player to ever qualify for the league leaders as both a hitter and a pitcher in one season
• Only player in MLB history with 10+ pitching wins and 30+ HR in the same season
  • Babe Ruth (1918) is the only other player with 10+ wins and 10+ HR
• Only player in MLB history to record an 8+ RBI game as a batter and a 13+ strikeout game as a pitcher at any point in a career...He accomplished both feats in consecutive games this season (June 21-22 vs. KC)
• Only pitcher in MLB history to carry a one-hitter (or better) into the 6^th inning against both reigning league champions in the same season
  • Carried perfect game into 6^th inning on April 20 at Houston
  • Took one-hitter into 7^th inning on July 22 at Atlanta
• On April 20 at Houston, became the first starting pitcher (since 1900) to bat twice in the top of the first before ever taking the mound. That night, he allowed two baserunners in 6.0 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts
• First player in MLB history to both throw and face a team's first pitch of the season
• Served as the Angels starting designated hitter in all of his pitching starts
  • The term “Ohtani rule” was added to Dictionary.com this year

THE PITCHER

• Led the A.L. with an 11.87 SO/9 innings rate
• Allowed two-or-fewer runs in 22 of 28 starts…Pitched to a 2.08 ERA (26 IP – 6 ER) with 25 strikeouts in his four no-decisions
• In final 19 games, pitched to a 1.67 ERA (118.2 IP – 22 ER) with 154 strikeouts
• During a six game pitching span from June 9 – July 13, went 6-0 with a 0.45 ERA (39.2 IP – 2 ER) and 58 strikeouts, (while also hitting eight HR with a .997 OPS)
  • Fourth pitcher all-time to go 6-0 with 58+ SO and 2-or-fewer ER in a six game span, joining Cy Young winners Johan Santana (2004), R.A. Dickey (2012) and Clayton Kershaw (2014)
• Induced 29 swings and misses on May 5 at Boston. No other pitcher has registered more in a game this season…That day, he also became the first starting pitcher to bat in one of the top four spots in the order in a game at Fenway Park since Babe Ruth on Sept. 20, 1919 (Game 1) vs. White Sox
• Recorded 10+ strikeouts in 10 games this season, which led the A.L.
  • Joined Nolan Ryan as only pitchers in Angels history with 10+ strikeouts in six consecutive starts
• Carried a no-hitter through 7.2 innings on Sept. 29 vs. Oakland
• In addition to leading A.L. in SO/9, ranked among league leaders in strikeouts (219; 3^rd), whiff% (33.0%; 4^th), ERA (2.33; 4^th), wins (15; T4^th), WHIP (1.01; 5^th) and opponent batting average (.203; 6^th).

THE HITTER

• Ranked in Top 10 in the American League in total bases (304; 5^th), intentional walks (14; 3^rd), extra-base hits (70; T3^rd), slugging (.519; 5^th), home runs (34; 4^th), OPS (.875, 5^th), triples (6; T4^th), RBI (95; 7^th), walks (72; 7^th) and runs (90; T8^th)
• Set a single-game career high (MLB or NPB) with eight RBI on June 21 vs. Kansas City, which also set MLB single-game RBI record for a Japanese-born player
• Had a career-best and team-leading 18-game hit streak from Sept. 14 – Oct. 3
• On April 10 vs. Houston, hit a double with an exit velocity of 119.1 MPH, breaking his own record for an extra-base hit by a left-handed batter in the Statcast era.
• Only player in the Majors to tally 6+ triples and 34+ HR this season (second consecutive year as the only player to do so)

ALL-STAR

• Selected to the All-Star Game as both a pitcher and position player for a second consecutive season
  • Only player in MLB history to be selected as an All-Star as both a position player and a pitcher
• Started the All-Star Game as the A.L. designated hitter and recorded the first leadoff All-Star hit since Mike Trout in 2015 

SHO OFF

• Only player in MLB history with 10+ pitching wins and 30+ home runs in the same season
• Only American League starting pitcher to throw 40+ pitches at 100+ MPH this season
• Pitched 7.0 scoreless innings on May 5 at Boston and had an 8th inning RBI hit off the Green Monster at 103.7 MPH, which knocked his #17 off the pitching section of the manual scoreboard’s linescore
• Had streak of 31.2 consecutive innings pitched without allowing an earned run, from June 9 - July 13
• Only player in the World Series era to compile 10+ wins and 10+ stolen bases in the same season
• A two-way comparison between Babe Ruth (1918) and Shohei Ohtani (2022):
  • Babe Ruth (1918):
    • 13-7, 2.22 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 40 SO
    • .300 AVG, 26 doubles, 11 HR, .555 SLG
  • Shohei Ohtani (2022):
    • 15-9, 2.33 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 219 SO
    • .273 AVG, 30 doubles, 34 HR, .519 SLG
• Led the Majors with a home-to-first average time of 4.09 seconds

**Research provided by Elias Sports Bureau, STATS, ESPN Stats & Info, Baseball Reference, Fangraphs and MLB**