ST. LOUIS — The Shohei Ohtani Tour rolled through St. Louis this week, with the city’s iconic Gateway Arch providing a eye-catching backsplash for baseball’s most exciting player.
Ohtani was given a day off Tuesday, the series opener, then played Wednesday as the Angels’ starting pitcher and No. 3 hitter in the lineup. Truth is, it wasn’t his best game of the year, which is by itself a rather ridiculous statement. He only pitched five innings, allowing two home runs and left with his Angels trailing, 4-3. At the plate, he didn’t homer.
MORE: Ohtani reunites with WBC pal Lars Nootbaar during St. Louis visit
So, yeah, by the standards he’s set for himself over the past two incredible seasons as one of the best starting pitchers in the sport and also as one of the best power hitters in baseball, it wasn’t his best game. But in this game that wasn’t his best game of the year, Ohtani still …
— Struck out 13 Cardinals hitters, becoming only the fourth player in MLB history to have at least 13 strikeouts in 5 or fewer innings. The only two non-strikeout outs: Paul Goldschmidt was thrown out trying to advance to second on a ball in the dirt, and Tommy Edman grounded out to third base.
— Had three hits (two singles and a double) and all three had an exit velocity of at least 105 mph. His third-inning single, which chased home Chad Wallach, off Miles Mikolas had an exit velocity of 108.8 mph.
Just more evidence of Ohtani’s unicorn nature.
“He’s a special player in our game,” manager Phil Nevin said before the game. “I’m excited for fans to get to see him on a regular basis. That’s why I think this new schedule has been great for our game.”
Ohtani did, in fact, get a nice round of applause from the Busch Stadium fans when he stepped to the plate in the first inning. It was only his second series in St. Louis, the first coming in 2019, an event that was much more about Albert Pujols’ homecoming than it was about Ohtani’s first trip to the city.
With the new balanced schedule setup for 2023, every team faces every other team during the season, so the Angels are visiting a lot of places they wouldn’t otherwise see. And it’s giving lots of other fan bases a chance to dream a little Ohtani dream. No harm in that, right?
It’s easy to imagine Cardinals fans imagining the possibility of Ohtani playing at Busch Stadium in Cardinals red next year, not Angels red. After all, Ohtani’s WBC best buddy Lars Nootbaar plays for the Cardinals, and Ohtani saw how much fun his former teammate, Albert Pujols, had playing his last season back with the Cardinals.
It’s a long shot, sure. Certainly a very, very long shot (money being what it is). But Ohtani is set to become a free agent after the season, and the chances of him staying in Anaheim seem slim, at best. So we’ll allow any fans to dream for the moment.
MORE: How Red Sox rookie Masataka Yoshida unlocked his swing during hot streak
And on the flip side, this balanced schedule gives Ohtani a chance to visit ballparks, experience fan bases and game day atmospheres he might otherwise not experience. That’s good first-hand knowledge when making the decision on where he will play the next 10 years, right? That’s not to say he’s consciously using the season to scope out potential future franchises, of course.
He’s already visited the ballparks of a few places that would love to sign him in the offseason. Ohtani and the Angels made a much-publicized trip to Yankee Stadium in mid-April — he homered in his first at-bat of the series, but didn’t pitch — and also have visited Seattle and Boston, too.
Let’s take a look at other stops on the Potential Future Ohtani Ballparks Tour.
Astros, June 1-4 and Aug. 11-13
Ohtani wouldn’t really leave the Angels for an AL West rival, right? Well, he wants to win, so, yes. The Astros are good and will continue to be good for quite a while. But these two trips to Houston won’t really give Ohtani any new information, considering he has 141 plate appearances in the ballpark in his career. He’s only batting .195 there, by the way.
Rangers, June 12-15 and Aug. 14-16
A year ago, it would have been hard to seriously put the Rangers in this conversation. But they’re clearly not afraid to spend money, and that type of commitment to competing for the long haul is something Ohtani will appreciate. Especially if, by chance, that August series ends any legitimate shot the Angels had of contending in 2023.
Royals, June 16-18
Just kidding.
Padres, July 3-5
Despite what most GMs and owners will tell you, just about any franchise can afford to offer Ohtani a contract north of $400 million, pushing $500 million. And, they should. But the Padres have spent a lot of money lately, especially with long-term contracts for both Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado. That said, you KNOW the Padres will try for Ohtani, if for nothing else than to keep him from playing for the NL West rivals a few miles north in Southern California. Speaking of that …
Dodgers, July 7-8
Ohtani and the Angels go directly from San Diego to Los Angeles. The Dodgers have to be considered one of the top few favorites to land Ohtani. They have the motivation, they have the money, and maybe most importantly, they have the track record of winning and competing for World Series titles that Ohtani craves in his next team. And Ohtani seems to like Los Angeles, so that’s a plus.
Blue Jays, July 28-30
Former Angels manager Joe Maddon was on the podcast hosted by Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville recently, and he brought up an interesting idea. When Ohtani first came to MLB, he wanted to play for a team on the West Coast. But now ...
“He’ll go anywhere to play baseball right now. So there’s going to be a lot of suitors”
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) April 25, 2023
-Joe Maddon on Shohei Ohtani on a must-listen new Starkville
Joe also has eye-opening thoughts on his own future & analytics
Apple: https://t.co/hqEM4AQn01
Spotify: https://t.co/vCOP1CpsP1 pic.twitter.com/P5LYeMq1Ky
Braves, July 31-Aug. 2
You don’t hear much about Atlanta as a possible destination for Ohtani, but if winning really is his goal, few (if any) franchises are better set up for the next five-plus years than the Braves. My bet is Ohtani will absolutely be taking notes during this series.
Mets, Aug. 25-27
This is the series everyone will be talking about. And if (OK, when) owner Steve Cohen is very present and visible during these three games, it will be to send a very obvious (but technically non-tampering) message.
Phillies, Aug. 28-30
Look, if Ohtani might be a possibility, the Phillies — same as any team in baseball — will find the money to make it happen. Having been in Citizens Bank Ballpark for big games, it’s absolutely an atmosphere that can make a positive impression.
Mariners, Sept. 11-13
It’s easy to imagine Ohtani wearing a Mariners uniform, continuing the legacy of so many players from Japan who have succeeded in Seattle, most obviously Ichiro Suzuki. This series will be one final chance for the ballpark to make an impression.
