It is Shohei Ohtani's world, and we are all just living in it. Major League Baseball confirmed that fact after slightly bending its rules to accommodate the transcendent two-way star for the upcoming All-Star Game on Tuesday.
The Japanese phenom will start on the mound and bat leadoff for the American League team when they square off with the National League All-Stars in the 2021 Midsummer Classic. Ohtani made history by becoming the first player in the long history of the All-Star Game to be selected as both a pitcher and as a position player, as the 27-year-old was voted in as a pitcher by the players and as the starting designated hitter by the fans.
MLB bends rules for Ohtani
Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash, who will lead the AL squad, considered that when fixing his starting lineup for Tuesday's much-anticipated contest. He needed MLB's cooperation, however, to set his plans into motion.
He begged the Commissioner's Office to tweak a rule and list the Los Angeles Angels star as both a pitcher and a DH in the AL lineup, which would then allow Cash to insert a new designated hitter when Ohtani comes out of the game.
This will help the American League as they won't need a pinch-hitter once Ohtani's spot in the lineup comes back around at the top of the order. That means if Ohtani is taken out of the game as a pitcher, he can remain in the game as a designated hitter, and also be replaced in that role.
Ohtani earned his spots in the All-Star lineup after a stellar two-way display in the first half of the season. Ohtani flourished as a hitter, batting .279/.364/.698 with four triples and 12 stolen bases. He leads the majors as well with a whopping 33 home runs, already a single-season record for a Japanese-born player.
What sets Ohtani apart from the other great hitters is that he's an outstanding starting pitcher as well. In the 13 games that he started, Ohtani posted a 3.49 ERA with 87 strikeouts and 35 walks in 67 innings pitched.
Related Article: Shohei Ohtani Makes History, Selected As Pitcher and Position Player in 2021 MLB All-Star Game
Ohtani wows in MLB Home Run Derby debut
The question now is does Ohtani still have something left in the tank after a grueling performance in Monday's Home Run Derby. He didn't win the title and was even eliminated in the first round but Ohtani looked spent and exhausted after a thrilling slugfest with Washington Nationals star Juan Soto.
Ohtani got off to a poor start in the first round and trailed Soto 22-5 when he called his lone timeout with one minute and 20 seconds remaining. After receiving a quick pep talk from Mike Trout, Ohtani went to work, blasting 10 more homers to stretch his tally to 15 before the bonus round.
Ohtani forced a swing-off by hitting seven home runs in the bonus round to tie Soto 22-22. The ensuing one-minute tiebreaker didn't decide things as Ohtani and Soto matched each other's tally of six home runs.
Soto finally emerged the winner when he went a perfect 3-for-3 in the second swing-off. Although Ohtani was eliminated in Round 1, he still made quite an impression, launching six 500-foot homers, the most ever in a single round in the Statcast era (2015 to present).
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