Most of the time, the baseball world stands in reverential awe of Angels designated hitter/pitcher Shohei Ohtani and outfielder Mike Trout—two future Hall of Famers who’ve defined the 21st-century game.
Sometimes, however, an opponent is courageous enough to have a little fun with them.
Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo—a two-time All-Star in his own right—memorably poked fun at Ohtani after striking out Trout to end the fifth inning of Los Angeles’s 5–4 win over the Mariners Friday night.
After punching Trout out on an 87-mph slider, Castillo turned to Ohtani, who was standing on second base following a two-out double. He made an exaggerated fist-pumping motion while Ohtani appeared to shrug him off good-naturedly.
Luis Castillo + Shohei Ohtani. An interaction you need to see. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/58s1soacZk
— MLB (@MLB) June 10, 2023
Despite the Angels' win, Trout had an off-night, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Ohtani singled, homered and drove in two runs in addition to his double; he also gave up three earned runs as a pitcher and earned a no-decision.
Castillo displayed nothing but respect for the 2021 American League MVP after the game.
“The most important thing for me, what I take away, is that I just competed and competed. Obviously, I had good numbers, but the two home runs [I allowed], one of them was to Ohtani,” Castillo said through an interpreter. “And he’s Ohtani.”
