Ohtani stands alongside ‘Godzilla’–now next up is ‘Choo Choo Train’

He’s finally matched Godzilla’s record. Now, the “$700 million man” Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) has his sights set on Asia’s all-time home run record holder Shin-soo “Choo Choo Train” Choo (SSG). If he can keep up his home run pace from last year, he could catch up within the year.

Ohtani started at No. 2-designated hitter against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on April 13 and went 3-for-5 with one home run and one RBI.

Ohtani hit his fourth home run of the season in his first at-bat of the day in the first inning. Down 0-2 with one out in the bottom of the first inning, Ohtani took a 95.4 mph fastball from San Diego right-hander Michael King for a massive 403-foot (122.8-meter) solo shot over the center field fence. The blast was so hard that it was clocked at 107.3 mph (172.7 km/h).

The home run gave Ohtani 175 career home runs in the majors, tying Hideki Matsui’s record for most home runs by a Japanese hitter in the majors.

Matsui played 10 seasons in the majors from 2003 to 2012. Ohtani, on the other hand, debuted in 2018 and is in his seventh season. His pace is much faster.

Ohtani’s next goal is to break Shin-Soo Choo’s record for most home runs by an Asian hitter. Shin-Soo Choo hit 218 home runs in his major league career. He hit 83 with the Cleveland Indians, where he was at his peak, 21 with the Cincinnati Reds in one season, and 114 with the Texas Rangers, where he signed as a free agent.

The difference between Ohtani and Shin-Soo Choo is 43. That’s a gap that’s not easy for any hitter to overcome this year. However, Ohtani led the American League in home runs with 44 last year 카지노 despite suffering from an elbow injury. His most home runs in a season was 46 in 2021.

Ohtani also has the advantage of being able to focus solely on hitting this year, as he’s not pitching and is only batting designated hitter. While his pace of four in 16 games is somewhat mediocre, Ohtani hit the same four homers in his first 16 games last year as he has this season, and his bat caught fire as the weather warmed up, blasting eight in May and 15 in June. June was also Ohtani’s strongest month, with 102 of his 175 home runs, more than half, coming from June through August.

“Personally, I’m very happy,” Ohtani said after the game. It’s obviously an honor to be at the same stage as (Matsui), and it’s a big thing for Japanese baseball,” he said after the game, “and now I’m looking forward to the next step.” The unflappable Ohtani has his sights set further afield.