Shohei Ohtani hit his 39th home run as the Los Angeles Angels remain committed to not trading him.
Ohtani started the second game of the 2023 Major League Baseball series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Monday (Sept. 29) as the designated hitter and hit a home run in his first at-bat.
Recently, Ohtani was the hottest man in baseball. That’s because of trade speculation. The Angels had ruled out trading Ohtani heading into the All-Star break, when they were winning over .500. But as injuries piled up and performance began to slip, the Angels reversed course, saying they would entertain trade inquiries.
At one point, the Angels shifted their stance and the major leagues began to hear about a trade for Ohtani. But as the second half began and the Angels returned to a winning percentage above .500, they reversed course. Instead of trading Ohtani, the Angels decided they wanted to bolster their lineup and make a run at the postseason, which they did by acquiring Lucas Giolito via trade.바카라사이트
With the Angels changing their minds, Ohtani responded with a home run. In his first at-bat of the game, Ohtani swung at a 93.4 mph four-seam fastball from Toronto ace Kevin Gausman in the middle of the strike zone. Ohtani’s hit was so well placed that he knew it was a home run as soon as it left his bat.
Ohtani’s pitch reached a whopping 103.5 mph (166.6 km/h) and traveled 397 feet (121 meters) before sailing over the right field fence for a solo home run. It was his 39th home run of the season, putting him just one shy of the 40-homer plateau. It puts Ohtani on pace for 61 home runs, one shy of Aaron Judge’s American League single-season record of 62.