Shohei Ohtani's story grabs focus of All-Star Game
American League's starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani, of the Los Angeles Angeles, throws during the first inning of the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday in Denver. Credit: AP/Jack Dempsey
The Angels’ two-way threat took the mound on 23 hours rest.
Though it’s routine for a starting pitcher to bow out of the Midsummer Classic because of his rotation turn not lining up favorably, Ohtani spent All-Star eve taking dozens of his mightiest swings in the Home Run Derby.
Based on the energy burned by his first-round loss to the Nats’ Juan Soto, an exhausting duel that featured a pair of tiebreaker swing-offs, Ohtani said he stayed in bed until 10:30 Tuesday morning. That left him recharged enough to fire one perfect inning, throwing 14 pitches (10 for strikes) and maxing out at 100.2 mph, joining Chris Sale as the only two starting pitchers to reach triple-digits in the Statcast era.
"It was by design," Ohtani said through his interpreter. "It was only one inning."
Still, the effort was good enough for Ohtani to earn the win in the AL’s 5-2 victory over the NL, making him only the second Japanese-born pitcher along with Masahiro Tanaka to get the W in an All-Star Game.
Ohtani, who also hit leadoff, went 0-for-2 at the plate, grounding into the pull-side shift in the first inning and later bouncing to first base in the third. But the AL didn’t need any offense from Ohtani to win their seventh straight All-Star Game, as well as 11 of the last 12 and 27 out of 33. The Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr., at age 22, became the youngest player to win the MVP with a solo homer and two RBIs.
Aaron Judge scored the AL’s first run after drawing a four-pitch walk, going to third on Rafael Devers’ double and hustling home on Marcus Semien’s infield single in the second inning. Taijuan Walker, the Mets’ lone All-Star rep, gave up a home run to former Mariners teammate Mike Zunino in the sixth inning.
Judge finished 0-for-2, but the highlight for him had to be escorting Billye Aaron — the wife of the late Hank, who passed away in January — for a pregame ceremony behind the plate that honored the Hall of Fame slugger.
The other two Yankees, Gerrit Cole and Aroldis Chapman, were loudly booed during the pregame introductions and did not appear in the game.
Walker retired everyone but his former Mariners catcher Zunino, who drilled a 97-mph fastball for a 433-foot home run into the rightfield seats. Walker and Zunino go way back to Double-A Jackson together in 2013.
"I had a good time, it was fun," Walker said. "Got myself a strikeout \[Whit Merrifield\], gave up a home run to an old teammate who knows how I pitch, but man, it was such a great experience to be out there with all those superstars and stuff."
The biggest highlight for Walker? Sharing it all with his family, from his 4-year-old son, Zayden, joining him on the field for Pete Alonso’s Derby mashfest to the rush of them cheering behind the NL dugout.
"I definitely heard them when I got that strikeout, so I’ll remember that one for a while," said Walker, who plans to spend the next two days at home in Arizona before joining the Mets in Pittsburgh to start the second half.
Ohtani showed up in Denver ready to embrace the unprecedented workload, and MLB bent the rules specifically so AL manager Kevin Cash could use him in the dual role of starting pitcher and designated hitter. It’s important to realize, however, that participating in the Derby does not equate to a few rounds of batting practice.
Swinging for the fences on every pitch, with 50,000 fans screaming on contact, can be incredibly draining, even for a 27-year-old, physically-gifted baseball unicorn. Ohtani accepted the challenge because he understands a global audience -- and especially those up early in his native Japan -- were excited to see him perform on this glamorous stage. But the two days in Denver, at altitude, wiped him out.
"Definitely it was a lot more tiring compared to the regular season," Ohtani said afterward.
The flip side of Ohtani’s dazzling presence at this All-Star Game is the glaring hole left by those who were selected but chose not to attend. The disturbing number of opt-outs created a cloud that hung over Coors Field for these two days, but also could be a problem that threatens to dull the shine of the All-Star Game from now on.
"With certain narrow exceptions, participation in the All-Star Game is mandatory," Rob Manfred said Tuesday during a meeting with the BBWAA. "We negotiated for that provision because we think it’s important for our fans to see our very, very best players at the All-Star Game ... I’m not going to get into individual circumstances, but we bargained for that and we intend to enforce that right."
Either way, expect the All-Star Game’s attendance to perhaps come under closer scrutiny after Tuesday night. Ohtani can’t carry the show forever.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
