A unicorn is usually defined as “a mythical animal generally depicted with the body and head of a horse with long flowing mane and tail and a single often spiraled horn in the middle of the forehead.”
Or, they could’ve just gone with “A unicorn is Shohei Ohtani.”
In this space, we’re going to discuss (and try to analyze) what mind-boggling efforts and accomplishments the Los Angeles Angels’ two-way star puts together on a week-to-week basis — because it’s the right thing to do.
Yes, we must highlight the greatness that is unfolding before our eyes. The world doesn’t deserve Shohei Ohtani, but he somehow exists — and we should be talking about him as much as possible.
What did Shohei Ohtani do on Monday? Make his mark in Yankee Stadium
I have been waiting for Ohtani to pay a visit to Yankee Stadium, and he did not disappoint. Batting from the two-hole, the unicorn tied his MVP-rival Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with his 26th homer — in his very first at-bat in the Bronx:
Oh, and he also induced this thoughtful tweet from a certain superstar defensive end who now plays for the Arizona Cardinals:
What did Shohei Ohtani do on Tuesday? Claim the league lead in home runs
Do you think Ohtani is keeping track of the MVP race?
Do you think he noticed that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. passed him as the betting favorite?
Do you think it ticked him off?
Well, Ohtani might’ve yanked control of the MVP race back his way on Tuesday, after he hit his 27th and 28th home runs against the Yankees. He now stands alone at the top of the home run leaderboard.
Oh, and he pitches on Wednesday. The legend continues.
What did Shohei Ohtani do on Wednesday? Show that he’s actually human after all
Hey, we’d be remiss if all we talked about in this column were Ohtani’s great moments — and they are great.
Unfortunately, taking the mound at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night while also batting leadoff, Ohtani had probably his worst outing of the season as a pitcher.
He didn’t even make it out of the first inning.
The game was delayed twice due to inclement weather so he wasn’t able to show out with the bat (and the game ended in stunning fashion), but hey, this just goes to show that even unicorns can stumble every now and again.
What did Shohei Ohtani do on Friday? Become the first player this season to reach 30 home runs
The Angels won this game, 8-7, on a walk-off, but you could say that this particular game was all Ohtani.
First, Ohtani hit his 29th homer in the bottom of the third inning to cut the Orioles’ lead to 3. Then, in the bottom of the fourth, Ohtani his a 400-foot two-run bomb for his 30th of the year:
Oh, and you see those stolen bases in that tweet? Well, his 12th put him in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth inning. One Jared-Walsh single later, and Ohtani was lying on the ground at home plate, victorious after scoring the winning run.
Well, well, well, look who’s back to being the MVP favorite!
It seems like that disastrous outing at Yankee Stadium did nothing to quell Ohtani’s surge. Vlad Jr. remains second in the odds, but they’re much wider now than they were last week.
The home run race looks to be closely tied to the AL MVP race, and both are well worth watching.