Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels hit his 35th home run of the season at Angel Stadium on the 18th (hereinafter Korean time).
Ohtani, the sole leader in home runs across both leagues, widened the gap to second place Atlanta Braves’ Matt Olson (30) to five. In the American League (AL), he hit eight more than Lewis Robert Jr. (27) of the second-place Chicago White Sox.
There is no hitter other than Olsen who can keep Ohtani in check. Olsen has only added two homers in 11 games since July. It can be regarded as Ohtani’s solo performance.
Had Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, who set the record for the most home runs in an AL season last year, not been injured, this year’s home run competition could have developed into a fierce battle that will go down in history. Just like Mark Maguire and Sammy Sosa did in 1998.
Judge injured his right big toe in the bottom of the 8th inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 4 when he hit the net fence at Dodger Stadium while trying to catch JD Martinez’s fly. It was only a few weeks later that the ligament tear was diagnosed먹튀검증, and Judge spent about a month without any training. These days, he moves with the team and is in earnest training related to ‘baseball’.
Judge, who recently started training with batting, running, and defense, is said to have conducted normal batting training with his teammates ahead of the game against the Angels that day.
MLB.com said on the day, ‘Jersey participated in batting practice normally at Coors Field on the first day of the second half. This is the first time he has been through prescribed batting training since he suffered a toe injury in early June. He lightly defended the outfield, and also played catch balls and light running.” He just said he didn’t swing.
“I haven’t had any problems with batting training,” Judge said. He also said he was considering undergoing surgery after this year’s season.
It has not been decided whether Judge needs a minor league rehab game. In other words, returning within this month is impossible.
Judge was continuing his peak hitting feeling before the injury. In 49 games he played, he had a batting average of .291, 19 home runs, and an OPS of 1.078. He hit his 19th home run of the season against the injured Dodgers, which at the time was second in home runs in both leagues, and in the AL, he beat Ohtani and Houston Astros Yodan Alvarez, who were tied for second place, by four runs.
Over the next 34 days, while the jersey stood still, Ohtani drew 20 arches.
An interesting scene unfolded at Angel Stadium that day. When Ohtani hit a home run, ‘of course’ Judge watched from the opponent’s dugout. MLB.com said, “Every seat at Angel Stadium burst out with shouts of “MVP!” An injured Judge watched this from the away dugout. That’s what Judge himself experienced last summer. This year, this cry is for Ohtani. This season is Ohtani’s year,’ he commented.
The Yankees have gone 15-20 in 35 games since the jersey was removed. The Yankees, who recorded 50 wins and 45 losses with the defeat on this day, are still at the bottom of the AL East Division. It is the first time in 33 years since October 4, 1990 that the Yankees fell to the bottom of the earth in the second half.