Toronto – Cory Gosselin had been eagerly anticipating the opportunity to see Shohei Ohtani, an extraordinary baseball talent, pitch live. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts in the Los Angeles Angels’ calendar, Ohtani ended up pitching in the day game of a doubleheader in Detroit on Thursday. As a result, he may not play at all in the first game of their three-game series in Toronto’s Rogers Centre on Friday.
“I’ve been trying to get tickets to see Shohei for years, but for some reason, it never worked out,” said Gosselin, who bought tickets for Friday’s game months ago upon learning that a friend’s father would be visiting Canada from France for the first time. Gosselin had informed his friend that having Ohtani pitch would be the best-case scenario for his father’s first-ever Major League Baseball game. “It was pretty exciting that it seemed like everything would align perfectly, but now it’s disappointing that he might not even play,” he added.
Ohtani, who made the leap from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball to join the Angels in December 2017, possesses a unique skill set in the modern era of baseball. He excels both as a pitcher and a hitter, a talent not witnessed since the legendary Babe Ruth.
In Thursday’s doubleheader against the Tigers, Ohtani demonstrated his prowess on both fronts. He pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout with eight strikeouts and led the Angels to a 6-0 victory in the first game. In the evening match, he hit two home runs, contributing to another win for the Angels.
Currently, Ohtani holds an impressive 9-5 record with a 3.43 earned-run average and 156 strikeouts as a pitcher this season. As a hitter, Ohtani maintains a .298 batting average with 38 home runs, 80 runs batted in, and 12 stolen bases.
Due to Ohtani’s extensive playing time, he only pitches in games once every six games. Initially, Ohtani was scheduled to pitch in Toronto on Friday. However, a rainout forced the Tigers and Angels to play a doubleheader on Thursday, prompting Ohtani’s start to be moved up. Playing two games in one day increases the likelihood of Ohtani getting a day off on Friday.
Gosselin, like many others, expressed disappointment upon learning that Ohtani would not be taking the mound at Rogers Centre. One Twitter user mentioned that secondary market tickets were being sold at high prices for Ohtani’s expected start. Another fan stated that he had spent $140 on tickets to watch Ohtani pitch and expressed disappointment at the turn of events.
There had been rumors leading up to Major League Baseball’s trade deadline on August 1 that Ohtani might be traded, with the Toronto Blue Jays being a potential destination. However, the Angels signaled their intention to push for the playoffs when they acquired right-handed pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.
This decision puzzled Gosselin even more because the Tigers are far from being in playoff contention, while the Blue Jays currently hold the third and final wild-card spot in the American League. The series against the Blue Jays in Toronto is critical for both teams’ postseason prospects. “What blows my mind is that they are keeping him to make a playoff run, so why switch it so that he doesn’t play against the better team?” questioned Gosselin. “Let’s face it, Detroit is probably an easy win, right? Or they should be an easy win. So why not have Shohei pitch tomorrow against the better team and secure an important win?”
Instead, it will be Giolito, making his Angels debut, going up against Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman at Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays had a day off on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was originally published on July 27, 2023.
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