One would think that at the age of 31, the wear and tear of pitching and batting professionally since he was 18 years old will some day wear down Shohei Ohtani.
Friday was not that day.
The man who fashioned one of MLB’s most singular postseason moments with 10 strikeouts on the mound and three homers off his bat last Oct. 17, is at it again in the World Baseball Classic.
The slugger singled in his final at-bat in that game, before coming out of the bullpen to shut down the United States in the ninth for his first save as a pro to seal Japan’s third championship.
On Friday, Ohtani picked up where he left off, doubling off the first pitch he saw to open Japan’s game against Taiwan.
“Since it was our first game, it’s a situation when everyone naturally tightens up, so I wanted to be somewhat on the aggressive side,” Ohtani said. “I got lucky in terms of where the ball landed.”
In the second, Ohtani put the hosts on the board, when he drove in Japan’s first four runs with a grand slam and capped the 10-run inning by smashing a two-out RBI single.
“When I hit (the home run), it didn’t feel like it was going to go out, but that was fine, since I was just looking to get us on the board and a deep outfield fly would have been plenty.”
In the fourth inning, Ohtani lined out to former Seibu Lions infielder Wu Nien-ting at first base in an attempt to prove he’s human.
I’m not buying it.
