This article was originally published as part of Verducci’s View, a new weekly baseball newsletter from Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci. Every Monday, Tom empties out his notebook over email and covers MLB’s hottest topics, provides in-depth analysis through both text and video breakdowns, looks forward to what’s worth watching during the week and more. If you want to be featured in his new mailbag, please email newsletters@si.com with any questions about MLB or his decades in the sport.
Shohei Ohtani turned 32 years old Sunday at a time when his incredible full-time two-way duty caught up with him a bit. On Friday, Ohtani grinded through six innings with 110 pitches—matching a career high for pitches in a game with nine baserunners. The next inning he left the game feeling tightness in his right biceps, the result of taking a swing in his previous at-bat. The next day he did not play while receiving treatment.
With the All-Star Game coming up, the Dodgers might opt to skip his next start, due Friday against Arizona, to afford him what would be a two-week break from pitching. It would reduce his projected innings total from 152 to 143. His career high is 166 but remember that Los Angeles plans to play seven months. It counts on him having enough in the tank to throw another 20–30 innings in the postseason.
On the day Ohtani turned 32, he had played in 1,099 games as a hitter and made 114 starts as a pitcher. His birthday is a good time to appreciate the gift of Ohtani as a two-way player of unprecedented productivity.
Compared to all hitters through 1,099 games, Ohtani:
- Hit 298 home runs, fifth most, behind only Aaron Judge, Ralph Kiner, Juan Gonzalez and Ryan Howard.
- Stole the most stolen bases (171) among players with 250 home runs except for Willie Mays (188).
- Most resembles Frank Robinson:
| Through 1,099 Games | HR | RBIs | Total Bases | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robinson | 250 | 749 | 2,305 | .957 |
| Ohtani | 298 | 719 | 2,334 | .955 |
As the home runs and the Robinson comp suggest, as a hitter alone Ohtani is an all-time great.
Now consider what he has done on the mound. Compared to all pitchers through 114 games, Ohtani:
- Struck out more batters (765) than all but nine pitchers.
- Owns the 11th lowest ERA (2.81).
- Lost the fewest games (22) of all pitchers with 700 strikeouts.
- Most resembles Roger Clemens:
| Through 114 Games | W–L | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clemens | 66–23 | 2.97 | 232 | 787 |
| Ohtani | 47–22 | 2.83 | 208 | 765 |
Combine all-time greats Robinson and Clemens into one player and you have Ohtani. Amazing.
Pinch Me
Miguel Rojas, who tied World Series Game 7 last year with a ninth-inning home run, quietly added another career highlight Friday: he pinch hit for Ohtani. Rojas singled in the seventh inning when Ohtani was removed with biceps tightness.
The moment recalls the incredible career of Carroll Hardy, the Forrest Gump of understudies. As a minor leaguer in 1955, Hardy also played for the San Francisco 49ers, catching passes from Y.A. Tittle.
In 1958 with Cleveland, on his 25th birthday, Hardy hit his first MLB homer while pinch-hitting for Roger Maris.
Two years later, on Sept. 20, 1960, Hardy became the only man to pinch hit for Ted Williams, who had to leave the game after fouling a ball off his foot in his first inning at-bat. (Hardy popped up a bunt into a double play).
Eight days later, in Williams’s final game, Hardy replaced Williams in left field when he was removed so that Fenway Park fans could send him off with an ovation. It was the game made famous by John Updike’s famous essay, “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu.”
Wait, there’s more.
The next year, 1961, Hardy pinch hit for Carl Yastrzemski. He bunted again. This time for a hit.
No, not done.
The year after that, 1962, Hardy, batting in the 12th inning, became the only player to end a scoreless game with a grand slam.
Wait. There’s more. On the final out of the pennant-clinching win for the 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox, Hardy was on deck for Minnesota when Rich Rollins popped up to Rico Petrocelli.
After his playing days, Hardy worked as an executive in the Denver Broncos front office, mentoring John Elway.
Tittle, Maris, Teddy Ballgame, Yaz, Elway. That’s a lot of history for a career .225 hitter, including .190 as a pinch hitter.
