Whose watching Ohtani's one inning tonight?

bk400 · #1 06-21-2025, 01:13 PM

Culturally, people probably assume Ohtani won't fight. But that dude is 6'4 250 (forget 210, his listed weight -- Bryce Harper is 210, and Ohtani is much bigger than Bryce Harper). He also owns the vertical jump record for both the Angels and the Dodgers and squats 500 lbs for reps. He's all smiles, but who on the Padres really wants to fight him.

icurnmedic · #2 06-22-2025, 11:20 PM

I wish he would just stick to hitting/fielding. I too hope I am wrong, but he�s just 1 pitch away from being forgotten about.

Beercan collector · #3 06-23-2025, 06:39 AM

Just an opinion but I think batting him lead off for a few extra plate appearances is killing the Dodgers ,
Five RBIs yesterday but still not in the top 20. how does a guy with 26 home runs have only 49 RBIs with Betts and Freeman as teammates ?
130 RBIs last year and a couple guys that can score 120 runs - all will struggle to reach the 100 mark this year.
Yes leads the league in plate appearances but guaranteed at least one plate appearance Every game with the bases empty.
Edit : perhaps “ killing the Dodgers“ Is a bit strong worded, they are in the first place ��

jayshum · #4 06-23-2025, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beercan collector

Just an opinion but I think batting him lead off for a few extra plate appearances is killing the Dodgers ,
Five RBIs yesterday but still not in the top 20. how does a guy with 26 home runs have only 49 RBIs with Betts and Freeman as teammates ?
130 RBIs last year and a couple guys that can score 120 runs - all will struggle to reach the 100 mark this year.
Yes leads the league in plate appearances but guaranteed at least one plate appearance Every game with the bases empty.
Edit : perhaps � killing the Dodgers� Is a bit strong worded, they are in the first place ��

Didn't he mostly lead off in 2024 when he got to 130 RBIs? If so, then it would seem to indicate that either he's not hitting as well with RISP or he's not getting as many opportunities with RISP which would point to the bottom of the order not getting on base as much. Either way, the fact that he had 130 RBIs from the lead off spot in 2024 seems to indicate batting him there isn't the main reason for his lower RBI total so far this year.

jayshum · #5 06-23-2025, 07:50 AM

I didn't see his inning yesterday, but no hits and 2 strikeouts with one runner reaching on an error. I haven't read anything about the Dodgers plans to ramp him up on the mound. Have they said when they will let him go longer in outings?

Carter08 · #6 06-23-2025, 07:53 AM

I�m guessing there are mathematicians that have crunched numbers on where to bat him. Judge is a massive power hitting and bats second most nights. Always seemed weird to me but maybe having best power hitters bat third or fourth is becoming outdated.

Beercan collector · #7 06-23-2025, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayshum

Didn't he mostly lead off in 2024 when he got to 130 RBIs? If so, then it would seem to indicate that either he's not hitting as well with RISP or he's not getting as many opportunities with RISP which would point to the bottom of the order not getting on base as much. Either way, the fact that he had 130 RBIs from the lead off spot in 2024 seems to indicate batting him there isn't the main reason for his lower RBI total so far this year.

Of course I could be totally wrong , Betts is a fine base runner,
Freemans a doubles machine - put them in front of Ohtani that looks like a bunch of runs to me - And they both be seeing more hittable pitches.
It’s always fun to pretend I’m smarter than a major league manager

bk400 · #8 06-23-2025, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beercan collector

Of course I could be totally wrong , Betts is a fine base runner,
Freemans a doubles machine - put them in front of Ohtani that looks like a bunch of runs to me - And they both be seeing more hittable pitches.
It’s always fun to pretend I’m smarter than a major league manager

I took a quick look at Ohtani's stats in 2024 and in 2025, season to date. So far this year, he's hitting .240 with OPS of .824 with RISP, compared with .283 and an OPS of .868 last year. So he isn't quite as good with runners in scoring position this year.

But he's also only had 50 ABs with RISP this season so far, which is roughly 30% less than what he probably had last year (he had 145 ABs with RISP for the full season last year).

So I think it is a combination of both issues -- he's less efficient himself, and the bottom of the order hasn't been getting on base as much.

Another anomaly is that Ohtani scored 134 runs last year, but is on pace this year to score 154. So someone is knocking him in.

D. Bergin · #9 06-23-2025, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bk400

I took a quick look at Ohtani's stats in 2024 and in 2025, season to date. So far this year, he's hitting .240 with OPS of .824 with RISP, compared with .283 and an OPS of .868 last year. So he isn't quite as good with runners in scoring position this year.

But he's also only had 50 ABs with RISP this season so far, which is roughly 30% less than what he probably had last year (he had 145 ABs with RISP for the full season last year).

So I think it is a combination of both issues -- he's less efficient himself, and the bottom of the order hasn't been getting on base as much.

Another anomaly is that Ohtani scored 134 runs last year, but is on pace this year to score 154. So someone is knocking him in.

It's really a testament to the Dodgers lineup, he had that many RBI's.

Ohtani had 177 Plate appearances with RISP. He led off 90 games last year, and batted 2nd for 69 games.

Judge batted 3rd, all year last year, and only had 178 Plate appearance with RISP.

With Soto gone, they have Judge moving up to the #2 spot, about half the games this year.

By the way, Judge is a career .302 AVG, .449 OBP, with Runners in scoring position.

Ohtani, for his career is not quite at that level, but pretty close.

I'd have Ohtani batting 1 or 2 in the order, anytime possible, just to take advantage of his base-running. Ultimately, you want OBP machines like Ohtani and Judge to get as many at bats as possible. Runs are just as important as RBI's.

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