Shohei Ohtani makes Statcast history yet again while breaking his own absurd record
Shohei Ohtani hadn't been off to the strongest offensive start this season last Sunday, but the pop in his bat proved to still be there if he could put the bat on the ball for the LA Angels. Ohtani had struggled to make contact as much as he wanted to prior to Sunday--striking out four times in three games.
He certainly made some great contact this past Sunday, though. Ohtani hit the hardest ball ever recorded by a left-handed hitter in baseball history. He smoked a 119.1 mph double against the Houston Astros.
This probably feels like quite the deja vu moment, and that's because...well, it is quite the deja vu moment. Ohtani hit the fastest ball ever recorded by a left-handed hitter last April as well with a double that reached 119 miles per hour. This double, however, breaks his record as it was 0.1 mph faster.
LA Angels' superstar DH Shohei Ohtani is the hardest-hitting left-handed hitter in baseball.
LA Angels' superstar DH Shohei Ohtani is perhaps the hardest-hitting left-handed hitter in baseball history. Heck, this is the fastest hit ever recorded. So for all we know, he is the hardest-hitting lefty in baseball history.
Ohtani was hitting .077/.077/.077 (.154 OPS) coming into the game, so this rocket shot was certainly a confidence-booster for the best offensive player in the game. He did hit a bit better in the series against Miami than he did against Houston--raising his slash line to .160/.160/.200 (.360 OPS) after the two-game series.
It's a long season, and it takes baby steps to get out of an early season slump. This didn't even classify as a slump--it was three games. If anyone did have any doubt about Ohtani's bat, however, he at least proved the fact that his power is still there if he can make contact consistently.