Courtesy of MLB China
Beijing, November 20, 2019 The reporter learned from MLB China that Shohei Otani, an Asian player who shined this year, successfully won the MVP of the American League a few days ago, and also became the first player in the history of the league to obtain an MVP as a "two-knife flow". He has played 23 games as a pitcher this season, 130.1 innings, with a total of 9 wins and 2 losses, ERA 3.18, with 156 strikeouts, an average of 10.8 strikeouts in nine innings.
Three American League MVP nominees this season are: Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Marcus Semien and Angels Shohei Otani. But unlike the other two contenders, Otani was selected for both pitcher and hitter status.
Compared with the star-level pitching content, Otani's hit data this season is the top of the league. 46 home runs, 100 RBIs, up to 0.592, attack index 0.965. That said, this season's Otani, whether standing on the pitcher's hill or in the hit box, is a frightening presence. It perfectly shows what kind of existence a real "two-knife flow" player really is.
A tribute to the god of baseball
Shohei Otani is another Japanese and Asian MVP after Ichiro Suzuki. Of course, it is also the MVP of another non-American player. For all Asian players who work at MLB, the significance of this motivation and impact is extraordinary
And more importantly, this should be regarded as the first person in the history of major leagues to win the MVP as a two-knife player with excellent pitching + batting data in a single season.
The grandfather of the two knife streams is the recognized GOAT of major leagues, the god of baseball, Babe Ruth. What's more, although Otani has performed well this season, he still has not been able to achieve the record of 10 wins + 10HR that Bebirus reached in 1918, so why is it said that Shohei Otani is the first person in the second knife stream?
Babe Ruth's greatness is unquestionable, but for various reasons he was only elected regular season MVP in 1923 during his career. Of course, this is not a regret of the god of baseball, this is the regret of the MVP selection.
Babe Ruth's two-knife flow style was mainly during his Red Sox career from 1914 to 1919. In particular, the 1918 season should be regarded as the season in which the god of baseball shot the most balanced. Thanks to the 200-win class of Carl Mays as the team's number one starter, Babe Ruth's number of pitches dropped from 41 games in the previous season to 20, and finally ate 166.1 innings, with a personal record of 13 wins and 7 losses, a defense rate of 2.22, WHIP1.046, ERA+ of 122; 95 hits, the number of seats increased to 382, the rate of hits was just 30%, and the 11 home runs were 11, the long hit rate was the highest in the league 0.555.
This achievement is the media commonly known as the 10 wins and 10 bombs Bebirus's two-knife peak season, before this season, Bebirus contributed to the team with "pitching as the mainstay, supplemented by blows", and after this season, he switched to the Yankees, which was mainly based on blows. For a full 16 seasons from 1920-1935, only five games were shot (four of which were started). Therefore, Shohei Otani is by no means a more powerful two-knife runner than Babe Ruth. But Babe Ruth, who won the MVP in 1923, was basically a full-time hitter, and he had little data as a pitcher when he won the MVP
Therefore, Otani can be regarded as the first player in history to truly obtain an MVP as a two-knife stream. This season's batting statistics are undoubtedly among the top of the league this season, and have been a strong contender for home run kings for a long time in the regular season. As a pitcher, although the data is not enough to become a Ceylon competitor, the performance of pitcher Otani on the hill is still convincing enough.
Comparison with other historical regular season MVP player stats
If we screen all major league regular season MVP players (including the American League and the National League) from 1911 to the present, and set the screening requirements to no less than 150 pitches, and there are both hits and home runs in the season, only these 8 can be found in history, and the following table is a comparison of Shohei Ohtani's pitching and blowing major data and these 8 MVPs in 2021.
Even if you just look at the percussion data, all regular season players can achieve 40+ HR, 100+ RBI and WAR or less than 9 in a single season, and there are only 20 MVP winners in history who have achieved this achievement, and most of the people who can unlock this achievement are such as Lou Gehrig, Ernie Banks and Little Graffei, who have long been inducted into the Hall of Fame, or "A-Rod" Alex Rodriguez ( Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds or Albert Pujols are all rare freaks in major league history.
Dream season with regrets
The 2021 season is undoubtedly a dream season for Shohei Otani. The haze and depression of the past were swept away in exchange for a baseball teenager running between bases like a hanging. The 46-shot home run was the third-highest in the league this season and significantly improved the record for the most asian players' home runs of the season set by Hideki Matsui in 2004.
Thanks to the excellent performance of both the pitching this season, in this season's All-Star Game, Shohei Otani was selected into the MLB All-Star Team as both a designated strike and a pitcher, which can be regarded as the official stamp of the major league, certifying his fiery performance in the pitching two-knife stream. Because this season's Otani, whether standing on the pitcher's hill or in the shooting box, is a frightening presence. It perfectly shows us what kind of existence a real "two-knife flow" player really is.
The performance on the pitcher's end is also not inferior, and he has repeatedly taken out a high-quality first-mover performance to suppress the opponent's playing line without temper. But often because of the dud and cowshed of their own line, regret and loss of winning shots. Throughout the season, Otani made 9 wins and 2 of his 23 appearances, compared with 12 unrelated wins and losses.
The reason why Otani failed to achieve 10 wins this season, and then failed to break the legendary record created by the god Babe Ruth, the Angels' fire support is not in place is a great responsibility. As Ichiro Suzuki, a legendary star who is also from Japan, spent almost the peak of his career with the Mariners. But even Ichiro Suzuki, with the exception of the explosive 2001, was powerless to bring the weak and unambitious Seattle into the playoffs. So much so that the entire MLB career has only been in the playoffs for two seasons, and the second time he is 38 years old and wearing a Yankee uniform. It can be seen that even the god of the ultra-long standby cannot withstand such a staggering time.
Even if you don't mention Ichiro Suzuki, who has already achieved fame, just look at Mike Trout, who claims to be the best player in the league in the first decade, and is also a member of the Angels. He's only had one playoff experience, and it's not even close to 2014.
On the other hand, the same Los Angeles team, the Dodgers have spent thousands of dollars to strengthen in the past two years, have regained the championship last year, and are still in the queue for the championship, and as for the Angels, you may not be able to say that they are completely unambitious. The Trout brought in legendary coach Joe Maddon, but still failed to reach his goal of advancing to the playoffs. It's no wonder that in an interview with ESPN, Otani, after expressing his love for the team, fans and the city, still had to add a sentence of "I want to win, I want to enter the playoffs." (End)
Source: China News Network