Good visibility for the homerun king for the second year in a row! Shohei Otani “Farewell Ippei!” At last, the “70-hit swing” is complete!

The shot, which went in the opposite direction and drew a high parabolic line, was the decisive factor in the awakening of the sleeping monster.

In his fourth at-bat against the Twins on April 9 (Japan time), Shohei Ohtani (29) of the Dodgers swung hard at an 86 mph (138 km/h) slider thrown by Jay Jackson (36), a former right-hander for the Hiroshima team. The white ball, which was hit at a 38-degree angle, reached the left field bleachers where the fans were waiting for it.

Perhaps the incident with Ippei Mizuhara (39) had an impact on Otani, who has been in poor form since the start of the season, with no home runs in 40 at-bats. As usual, the pace of home runs in the early spring has been slow, but the team’s executives were concerned because he had not hit a home run in eight consecutive games, the worst start to a season in baseball’s history. However, on April 4, he hit an oversized No. 1 against the Giants, and then hit back-to-back homers in the following game. After that, he seemed to have completely grasped the concept of the game, hitting .500 with three home runs in five games. Finally, he is ready for mass production.

What is the reason for his strong performance? Baseball commentator Takehiko Kobayakawa analyzes, “His mental composure is having a positive effect.

Of course, the betrayal of a close ally has had a big impact on Otani. But before that, he signed the most expensive contract in sports history, totaling more than 100 billion yen, and joined the Dodgers, one of the most popular teams in the majors. The expectations from those around him are extraordinary. Even the mentally tough Ohtani would have a hard time overcoming all the pressure.
Even so, the physical condition that he says he has been suffering from has been resolved, and he is finally able to play the way he should. The force that comes from mental pressure has disappeared, and he is less likely to get plugged in or jammed.

Of course, it seems that it is not only the mental aspect that is growing. Many have pointed out that since the beginning of this season, he has been searching for a form with a narrower stance than usual, which he has perfected and which has led to an increase in long hits.

In fact, last year, when I won the home run crown, I narrowed my stance in June (15 home runs in a month), when I was at my best. By adopting a stance closer to a natural standing posture, my body relaxed and I was able to distribute my power in such a way that I could exert maximum force at the moment of impact. The bat’s trajectory became more precise and the swing speed increased. In July and August, people were interested to see how much he could mass produce, but he was unable to increase his numbers as much as he would have liked due to fatigue and injury caused by his two-sport swing. This year, I have been able to use this method since the beginning of spring, and my body has become even stronger through off-season training, so I am hitting more long balls in the opposite direction, which is a barometer of how well I am doing. It is not a dream to hit 70 runs in a year.

In the last few games, Ohtani has been using a cricket bat with a grip modified to baseball specifications for hitting practice, and he has been getting a lot of hits. The new menu, which he introduced with the aim of capturing the “image of catching the ball with the surface,” is said to be helping him perfect his swing so that he can put the bat in the path of the ball for longer periods of time.

Ohtani has already regained the feeling he had last June, when he was hitting the best of his baseball career, and has further developed his swing with the new weapons. The loss of an ally is no longer an issue for this man. The lion finally awakened, and his goal is to break Barry Bonds’ (59) world record of 73 home runs in a season.

From the April 26, 2024 issue of FRIDAY