OC Register: Shohei Ohtani’s batting-practice blast at Angel Stadium measured 513 feet

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM >> Angel Stadium’s monstrous new right-field video board perhaps now can be called the Ohtani-tron.

The legend of Shohei Ohtani grew larger Friday, when he hit a batting-practice home run that traveled an estimated 513 feet and struck a 9,500-square-foot screen that looms beyond 38 rows of outfield seating.

Ohtani’s blast didn’t merely clip a corner of the board. It struck several feet up the left side of the 49-foot tall board, which extends into the center-field area. The Angels debuted that scoreboard at the start of this season, and it measures as the third-largest in Major League Baseball. Now it has a story.

Sign up for Home Turf and get 3 exclusive stories every SoCal sports fan must read, sent daily. Subscribe here.

Japanese television network NHK captured the home run on video, and on Saturday afternoon, the team measured how far the ball had traveled. The Angels hadn’t previously determined the distance between home plate and the new scoreboard because, well, who thought anyone would reach it?

“He did not hit a home run off that scoreboard,” disbelieving Angels manager Mike Scioscia said before Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay at Angel Stadium.

Informed that yes, it indeed had been recorded, Scioscia then was asked how a 513-foot home run might compare to arguably the most awe-inspiring home run in stadium history, the one hit by San Francisco’s Barry Bonds during the 2002 World Series.

“You’re talking about batting practice?” Scioscia said. “Yeah, we’re not going to talk about BP. Shohei has a lot of power.”

After a pause for Japanese translation, Scioscia turned back to a media member, grinned and said. “The ball Bonds hit was a blast, though.”

The arrival of Ohtani has created a Bonds-like phenomenon. Ohtani had a history of exploits during five seasons in Japan, and during the World Baseball Classic in 2016, Ohtani hit a towering fly ball that went through a hole in the Tokyo Dome roof. Baffled umpires awarded Ohtani a ground-rule double.

Ohtani also put on a thin-air, batting-practice show in Denver this month, which included one blast into the third deck of Coors Field’s outfield seats. A social-media video this month appeared to show Ohtani hitting the same Angel Stadium video board he struck Friday, but not with the same height or distance.

Ohtani’s immediate goal is to avoid having any batters get close to that scoreboard. He will pitch for the Angels on Sunday afternoon against Tampa Bay and will attempt to build on consecutive stellar outings.

The Angels have a 5-1 record when Ohtani starts, and last Sunday against Minnesota, Ohtani allowed one run on three hits in 6 1/3 innings, walked two and struck out 11.

“The best teacher we have is experience,” Scioscia said. “As he’s going out there and pitching, he has found out just how his stuff plays in the major leagues, how his pitches play and a way to keep himself more consistent. These are things that, when you’re out there and you pitch on a consistent basis, you absorb. … He makes those in-game adjustments and he has been very good.”

Ohtani was not in the lineup Saturday night, as is customary on the day before he pitches, but his hitting remains a constant topic of conversation.

Scioscia said he wouldn’t object if Ohtani is chosen to participate in the Home Run Derby competition during All-Star festivities in July.

“That’s a player’s decision,” Scioscia said. “I’m sure there’s a lot of things that go into it, as far as what a player decides, but it’s always been the prerogative of the player if he wants to participate.”

ROSTER MOVE

A few hours after the Angels needed 19 outs from their bullpen Friday night, they made a roster move and promoted left-handed reliever Ian Krol and sent right-hander Eduardo Paredes to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Paredes has appeared in seven games this season. He pitched Friday night, after starter Nick Tropeano lasted only 2-2/3 innings, and Paredes allowed one run and three hits in two innings.

Krol, 27, signed a minor-league contract with the Angels in February and got optioned to Triple-A after 11 spring-training games, during which he had two saves and allowed five earned runs in 10-2/3 innings.

“I don’t think Ian threw the ball in spring that poorly,” Scioscia said, “but it certainly wasn’t quite where he is right now. He needed a little time, I think, to work on some things and to go out there and just find his pitches on a consistent basis, and he has done that. He has been throwing the ball very well down there.”

To make room for Krol on the 40-man roster, the Angels transferred pitcher Matt Shoemaker to the 60-day disabled list. Shoemaker, out since late March with a forearm strain, said Friday that he plans to visit a doctor in St. Louis next week and that surgical and non-surgical options remain possible.

Scioscia said reliever Blake Wood, on the disabled list with an elbow impingement, would have a second minor-league rehab outing either Saturday night or Sunday and wouldn’t join the Angels this weekend.

UP NEXT

Rays (starting pitcher TBD) vs. Angels (RHP Shohei Ohtani, 3-1, 3.58 ERA), Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox Sports West.

View the full article