Ranking Shohei Ohtani’s Top 5 Games From His Rookie Year

Saturday night, Shohei Ohtani formally accepted his award for American League Rookie of the Year. In honor of that, let’s take a look at the Japanese phenom’s best games from his historical 2018 season.

#5: Shohei Ohtani Makes His Debut

The first time Shohei Ohtani took the mound against the Oakland Athletics, it was just about as well as Halo fans could have hoped for. After a Spring Training season where Ohtani was absolutely abysmal, the entire nation was watching to see if he could shake whatever problems he was having in Tempe.

And whatever they were, Ohtani made sure everyone knew who he really was as a pitcher. While it was by no means an absolutely elite start, Ohtani showed that he belonged in the MLB. He threw six innings, and allowed one home run to Matt Chapman, one of the best hitting third baseman in the American League. He gave up a total of five hits, and did struggle with his command by giving up four walks, but also struck out an impressive six batters.

The biggest part of this start was after Ohtani gave up that home run. Once Chapman touched home plate, Ohtani went into an entire new zone. He did not allow another hit through the sixth inning, and allowed a single walk.

While the Angels and their fans were surely happy to see Ohtani contributing and playing well, nobody had any idea what was in store for the rest of Ohtani’s rookie season. And man, what a pleasant surprise.