Shohei Ohtani qualifies as both hitter and pitcher to wrap up MLB season
Shohei Ohtani became the first player in MLB’s World Series era to qualify for the leaderboards as both a hitter and a pitcher after throwing five innings in the Los Angeles Angels’ 3-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Oct. 5.
The two-way star threw a perfect first inning in the Angels’ last game of the season to reach the 162 innings required to qualify among the league leaders for pitchers for the first time in his five years in the majors.
Ohtani, who was pitching in his 28th game of the season, had already qualified among the league leaders as a hitter for the second straight year by passing 502 plate appearances.
“I wasn’t fixated on it to begin with,” said Ohtani, who missed just five games, hit 34 home runs and improved on his 130 innings tossed last year by pitching in a six-day rotation. “I knew I could qualify in both if I got to play regularly.
“I was testing many things this year as that was the main theme. If I can continue being creative next year onward, I believe I can achieve even better numbers.” (Kyodo)
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