Shohei Ohtani said he hit 97 miles while throwing in the practice of batting, an encouraging development that supports the enthusiasm expressed by prominent members of the Los Angeles Angels during the season.
Ohtani, the ambivalent Japanese player who has not played regularly since the start of the 2018 season, played against fielders Jared Walsh and Luis Rengifo from the team’s training camp complex in Tempe, Arizona, and said, through an interpreter , that he feels elbow “Much better compared to last year.
The meeting came 24 hours after Ohtani struck in a actual batting practice, something that is part of Los Angeles’ plan not to be so restrictive in terms of the player’s use.
Ohtani, 26, made the long-awaited comeback from Tommy John surgery during the short COVID-19 pandemic season of 2020, but lasted only two starts with five recorded outings, before suffering a doubt a nearby white tissue. just to beat.
After a difficult summer on both sides of the field, Ohtani underwent an aggressive off-season program in which he put himself in several game situations, adapted his diet, modified his training program, recorded tailor-made data. . He improved his fatigue and sought advice from third parties, including, sources indicated, experts at the popular Driveline training unit.
The Angels constantly monitored Ohtani’s progress, and as he navigated his first off-season as the team’s general manager, Perry Minasian was delighted with the reports he received, predicting that Ohtani would be “a different player. making a difference ”in 2021. The angels indicated that they would keep him as an ambivalent player and not treat him with caution as they did in previous years.
“The rules are, there will be no rules,” said Angels manager Joe Maddon after pitchers and captors reported the spring camp.
The next day, Maddon met with Ohtani and his performer, Ippei Mizuhara, to specify the details of the weekly program in which Ohtani’s hit will be combined with his pitching and also to emphasize the importance of transparency.
“In a way, I want (Shohei) to take more control and control his career and what happens every day,” Maddon said. “Coming from Japan, he comes from a very respectful experience, where the characters of authority will not be questioned as they do here, and I wanted to say, ‘Hey, I’m fine with that, I want you to know that I want you to- you tell me what you think. I don’t want to limit you.
During his rehabilitation after surgery for a torn ulnar collateral ligament, Ohtani remained productive as a designated hitter at .286 / .351 / .532 in 792 bat-bats from 2018 to 2019.
However, in 2020, Ohtani reached only 0.190 and had an ERA of 37.80. Maddon saw a pitcher struggling to repeat its mechanics and a constantly outdated beater, a clear indication, in his opinion, of someone who had been thrown out of the routine and perhaps pushed too hard to produce it in a while. limited.
“I want to have fun and feel good on the field and do my job where it is needed. I want to make Joe use me as much as possible, “Ohtani said.