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RE: The Experts Are Wrong. Japanese Two-Way Baseball Star Shohei Ohtani is a Better Fit for the National League

in #sports7 years ago (edited)

As a baseball player that pitches and plays most positions in the field, including catcher, I can relate a bit. Most players are gamers and want to be involved as much as possible. They love the game and the bench is the last place they'd want to be, as long as they're qualified to remain in the game.

As for this unique player, I think playing the field in the NL would be a horrible idea because it will prevent him from getting full rest between starts. Even as a professional, playing a full game, after a long starting pitching performance and potential traveling across time zones, is tough on the body to recover in time. It could also increase injury, not just from being in the field, but from the extra stress on their arm making laser throws from the warning track at full velocity to try to gun down players. After 100 pitches in prior days, no matter how conditioned you are, that's not a wise thing to do. When I pitch, I'm fine to stay in the game, or come in from the field in relief, but once the games(s) are over for the day, my arm and legs are at 70% at best for a few days. In a MLB setting, not being at 90+% defensive performance is going to hurt the team, as much as a potential (developing/unproven vs MLB pitching) bat he may have. It may also wear down their pitching over the season too. It's a long season and his stats have been very limited to prove such durability. As he gets older, it'll get harder.

Sure, Shohei is young and wants to prove himself as the next Babe Ruth, but in reality, it could be a disaster if he tears something in his legs putting the brakes on a ball in the gap to get the throw off.

Just my two cents. For longevity and overall health, stick to the safer league, the AL -- and let the professional DH do their job. Maybe plug in as DH occasionally on matchups. If they get an interleague start as an AL pitcher, then they can show off their bat a few times a year for the fans, if they're not DH'ing much.

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That's definitely the safer choice, especially for a top pitcher. At some point, if two-way players apparently are coming in the future, all teams (AL and NL) will need to find some ways to integrate them and get them some at bats.

Or they could always put him at catcher (kidding).

If they catch, he should throw nasty 85 MPH breaking balls to 2B/3B to deke the runners. They'd peek to think it was going wide and ease up or run through the bag, just enough to make a YouTube highlight reel or SportCenter's Top 10.

Ironically, a lot of closers are converted catchers since they have cannons for arms and tree trunks for legs. If there's a backup on the roster or their bats are sub-par, the coaching staff will often give them a shot to be a closer. Some examples: Troy Percival, Jason Motte (I played against him when he caught and his arm was legendary), Carlos Marmol, and Kenley Jansen.

For sure. And you can spot the former pitchers who end up in RF, since they have cannons also. Kind of like how receivers who can't hold onto a football end up as cornerbacks.