Yesterday, two-way Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani cranked the first Major League home run of his career (the first of many, I’m sure), and it was a towering three-run blast.
Check it out:
Shohei Ohtani's first AB at home in MLB … a three-run homer, of course. With an awesome celebration, too! pic.twitter.com/qCcEpeTjS0
— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) April 4, 2018
According to Statcast, that ball traveled only 397 feet, but that’s because of the moon-shot 35.4 degree launch angle. After all, it left the bat 104.5 MPH – dude crushed it.
But that’s not even the best part. Immediately after hitting the home run, Ohtani returned to the dugout only to find his teammates giving him the cold shoulder (a classic big league move after a rookie’s first dinger). Ohtani tries to play along for a second, faking high-fives to imaginary teammates, but can’t make it for long.
He eventually pulls down a teammate in the most GIVE ME A HUG moment ever:
Hahaha. After hitting his first Major League home run, Ohtani wanted no part of the silent treatment!
Big group hug commences: pic.twitter.com/z3EBzCodmf
— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) April 4, 2018
Absolutely love it. What a great moment.