Thanks to Shohei Ohtani, the LA Angels enter the record books again

It was a first for Shohei Ohtani today, as the LA Angels had him pitch on five days rest for the first time this year.

Well, that was a first for the Angels today. There was another much more notable first that happened today as well, and it means a bit more to MLB history than that individual accomplishment:

The Shohei Ohtani Effect: For the first time in MLB history, an NL team will be using a DH and an AL team will not.

Watch Angels-Giants for FREE on @MLBTV right now! (stat via @MikeDiGiovanna) pic.twitter.com/QzY3f9l3Gm
— MLB (@MLB) June 23, 2021

Never has a DH been available to both teams, and the AL team has passed while the NL team feels thankful to be able to take advantage of it. But, when Shohei Ohtani’s on a team, a lot of unusual lines get added to the baseball history book.

Shohei Ohtani adds to his historic season, providing the LA Angels with no reason to bat a DH.

Shohei Ohtani’s too good of a hitter to not have him bat for the LA Angels. Entering today, he posted a line of .269/.355/.640 while tied for the league lead with 23 homers, and has driven in 54 runs.

It was the obvious choice, and Joe Maddon made it.

#Angels lineup with Shohei Ohtani pulling double duty. First time ever that an AL team has the pitcher hitting with the DH rules in place and the NL team is using a DH. “Why not Shohei, why not us?” Maddon said. pic.twitter.com/4mdWFGh71o
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 23, 2021

I like the way Maddon put it. Who would be better to do this than Ohtani?

Also, the Angels are also a bit shorthanded right now as far as bats are concerned. They had to start Luis Rengifo in right field in place of the red-hot Justin Upton, who is dealing with some lower back tightness.

The Angels were set to miss J-Up’s bat, so they needed to ask a bit more of Ohtani.

Next. Fans still showing Ohtani All-Star love

He’s always up for the challenge, however, and was certainly up for it today.

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