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

In Ohtani’s first time playing at The Big A, he was slotted to hit eighth in the lineup for the Halos. It was not too long until Shohei proved he belonged on the opposite end of the lineup card everyday, as he set the MLB world on fire after just four at-bats in Anaheim.

In the bottom of the first inning, the Angels were on fire. They had just tied the game 2-2 against Cleveland, and none other than Shohei Ohtani came up to bat with the bases loaded. The stage could not have been set better for the rookie.

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That was until Kole Calhoun swiped home on a wild pitch, robbing Ohtani of the chance for a grand slam. However, Shohei settled for the next best, and hit an absolute moonshot As Ohtani rounded the bases, one could hear how loud the crowd was through the television broadcast. Of course, once he entered the dugout, his teammates acted as if nothing worth noting had occurred, leading to one of the most laughable moments from the entire Angels year.

From that point on, the Angels took over the game, and Ohtani led the way. In his next at-bat, Ohtani hit another rocket, though this one only went for a single. While he did strikeout looking in his third time at the plate, Ohtani hit a heater to center field, and later came in to score for a second time on the night.

And while they did not make the list, this was just the beginning of Ohtani’s historic start at the plate. Ohtani hit home runs in his next two starts at the plate, one off of Corey Kluber, nothing could compare to his first time hitting in front of his home crowd.