“I can’t hear the club saying I can’t be traded…” Ohtani himself doesn’t know, fans give him a standing ovation as he says goodbye
Shohei Ohtani (29-LA Angels) received a huge ovation as he walked off the mound after giving up five runs. The fans gave him a standing ovation as if to say goodbye in what could be his final outing as a pitcher in his home stadium.바카라사이트
Ohtani started the 2023 Major League Baseball home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, USA, on April 22, giving up five runs on six hits (four home runs) in 6 1/3 innings with one walk and nine strikeouts. He won his eighth game of the season (five starts) with offensive support, but saw his ERA rise from 3.50 to 3.71.
The four homers were the first of Ohtani’s career, including his time in Japan. Shaken by five runs in the sixth inning, Ohtani took the mound in the seventh. He retired the first batter he faced, Nick Gonzalez, on a fly ball to left field.
As he walked into the third base dugout, the Angels’ home fans rose to their feet and gave him a rousing ovation. Despite the poor pitching performance, the fans didn’t let the moment pass by as they realized this could be Ohtani’s last home start before the trade deadline next month. They chanted “MVP” and gave Ohtani a standing ovation.
“It’s unlikely the Angels will trade Ohtani at the trade deadline, but it still remains a possibility,” MLB.com wrote. Ohtani said it wasn’t on his mind, but the 40,309 fans at Angels Stadium loudly cheered the reigning MVP as he walked off the mound, doing their best to make him feel special.
After the game, Ohtani said, “I didn’t think for a second that today was my last time (pitching at home). I’m a part of the Angels now, and I think we’re in a good position to make the playoffs.”
Ohtani, who is a free agent after this season, has been the subject of trade rumors as the trade deadline approaches. The Angels’ six-game losing streak on Sept. 15 intensified trade speculation as fall baseball faded into the distance, but a rebound to 5-1 in their last six games, including four straight wins, has put some weight back on the possibility of Ohtani staying.
At 50-48 on the season, the Angels are in third place in the American League (AL) West and the sixth wild-card spot, four games out of the postseason cutoff for the third-place Toronto Blue Jays (54-44). There’s plenty of fall baseball to play for, and Ohtani isn’t giving up, but the next ten days will be crucial for the Angels to stay in the hunt.
According to Japan’s Full Count, Ohtani was quoted earlier in the day as saying, “I haven’t had any conversations with the club about an in-season extension. There is no place for that at all. The idea that I want to focus on the season hasn’t changed,” he said, adding, “I haven’t heard anything from the club about a trade. I haven’t even talked to general manager Perry Minassian about it because we meet once a week.”
Ohtani himself is having a hard time predicting whether he will be traded or not. “We’re in a delicate position right now. I don’t know if I’m going to be a seller or a buyer. I don’t know what the team will decide, and that’s not something I can control,” he said. The Angels are expected to wait until the deadline to decide whether to trade Ohtani.