NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani‘s right elbow was fine until he tore his ulnar collateral ligament with a 94 mph fastball to Cincinnati‘s Christian Encarnacion-Strand on Wednesday, according to Los Angeles Angels manager Phil Nevin.
Baseball’s two-way superstar was back in the Angels’ lineup as a designated hitter Friday night against the New York Mets, two days after the injury ended his season as a pitcher and clouded his future months before he can become a free agent.
He hit a 115.4 mph double that one-hopped the right-field wall against countryman Kodai Senga, keying a two-run third inning. Ohtani also walked three times and grounded out in the Angels’ 3-1 win.
“The guy loves the game — he loves us,” Angels starter Patrick Sandoval said. “It’s obvious — he’s out there playing after the news that he got and what he’s dealing with. It’s pretty special.”
A crowd of 38,271 turned out on Japanese Heritage Night at Citi Field and greeted Ohtani with a warm ovation in the first. Ohtani, facing Senga, made a tipping motion toward the Mets dugout and Senga, who held him to a .227 average with two homers in 22 at-bats in Japan.
“I think he’s a very special player and I think that in itself makes everything special,” Senga said through an interpreter. “I faced him a few times in Japan and I was excited to face him again here.”
Mets manager Buck Showalter was booed for ordering an intentional walk to Ohtani with runners at the corners and two outs in the ninth.
Speaking about Ohtani’s injury, Senga said, “I saw it on the news just like everybody else and I was shocked. I think the whole world was shocked by that news.”
Ohtani hasn’t spoken with media since the injury, and it remains unclear whether he will have a second Tommy John surgery. The Angels have said he plans to seek a second opinion.
“Him and his representation are going to come up with a plan,” general manager Perry Minasian said. “But as we sit here today, he’s going to play until he tells us he’s not.”
Ohtani’s fastball averaged 93.1 mph against the Reds, down from a season average of 96.8 mph, according to FanGraphs. His sweeper dropped 4 mph and his curveball 5.7 mph, an indication something was wrong. Ohtani had skipped his previous turn in the rotation, citing arm fatigue, and was pitching for the first time since Aug. 9.
“He threw a pitch and looked in the dugout, and it’s his look that I haven’t gotten before,” Nevin said. “So I grabbed the trainer and we went out to the mound. He didn’t say he had pain at the time, either, just knew that something wasn’t right. And when we came in, he kind of let us know that he was feeling some issues in a certain spot, which he had never done before.”
Ohtani was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts with 162 strikeouts in 132 innings to go along with a .305 batting average, a major league-leading 44 home runs and 1.073 OPS along with 91 RBIs.
Ohtani was hurt on his 26th pitch of the outing, his 2,088th of the season, his 6,824th since Tommy John surgery and the 7,677th of his big league career.
“People want to speculate all they want,” Nevin said. “He just felt what he called fatigue, a little tired. But when he got through a week after missing the start, he felt great all week. He threw great bullpens, and he just went amiss there in the second inning.”
Now 29, Ohtani had Tommy John surgery Oct. 1, 2018, performed by Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Ohtani was voted American League Rookie of the Year after hitting .285 with 22 homers and 61 RBIs while going 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts. He pitched just once after June 6.
He was exclusively a hitter in 2019 while recuperating but returned to the mound for two starts in 2020 before straining his right forearm. He put it all together in 2021, winning AL MVP in a unanimous vote and finishing second to Aaron Judge last year while also placing fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting.
Ohtani insisted on playing the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader even though he had been told of the UCL tear.
“You wouldn’t know. He’s got a smile on his face. He’s hanging out with his teammates,” Nevin said. “He likes playing baseball. He wants to be out here with his teammates. He wants to be out here in front of the fans. And I think it’s just a testament to him and who he is and what he’s meant to not only our team in this clubhouse, to myself, to this game.”
Ohtani is eligible for free agency after the season and was in line for a record contract, perhaps $500 million or more. Star teammate Mike Trout predicted Ohtani will remain a two-way player.
“There’s no doubt in my mind,” he said.
Trout, a three-time AL MVP, went back on the injured list because of his fractured left hamate bone in a move retroactive to Wednesday. He was 1-for-4 Tuesday after missing 38 games.
“I wasn’t right. I was in some pain, more than tolerable,” he said. “I felt I could push it, just to get back out there and just came in the next day really, really sore.”
Trout felt pain while batting.
“They weren’t my ‘A’ swings,” he said. “Once I started fouling some pitches off, it wasn’t really an at-bat for me. It was more of: Man, my hand really hurts. But I was just trying to get through it and probably shouldn’t have.”
Trout is convinced he will return before the end of the season.
“Just going to make sure it’s completely healed before I go out there,” he said.
Los Angeles placed catcher Matt Thaiss on the injured list retroactive to Thursday with right shoulder inflammation, selected the contract of catcher Chad Wallach from Triple-A Salt Lake, recalled outfielder Trey Cabbage from the Bees and activated right-hander Chris Devenski from the injured list and designated him for assignment.
Thaiss said he jammed the shoulder during last Saturday’s doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays while sliding into third base.
“It’s just not feeling right today,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com