Japanese pitcher and hitter Shohei Ohtani, 29, of the Los Angeles Angels of America’s Major League Baseball, is about to make history. The “Triple Crown” of batting average, RBIs, and home runs is within reach.
On June 2 (KST), MLB.com and the Los Angeles Times reported that Ohtani, who leads the American League (AL) in home runs, RBIs, and is fourth in batting average, could win the Triple Crown this season.
In 27 games during the month of June, Ohtani batted .394 (104-for-41) with 15 home runs and 29 RBIs. His OPS, which combines slugging and on-base percentage, was a stellar .952. He was literally in “crazy mode. He hit as many home runs (15) in a single month as he did in the two months of April and May. In July, he hit his 31st home run of the season on the 3rd against Arizona.
Through three days, Ohtani is batting .306 with 31 home runs and 68 RBIs this season. His OPS is a whopping 1.060. He leads the American League in home runs, RBIs, and is fourth in batting average.
Lewis Roberts (26-Chicago White Sox) is second in the league in home runs with 24. He is seven behind Ohtani. Adolis Garcia (30-Texas) trails Ohtani by one RBI with 67. In the batting average category, Yandy Diaz (32-Tampa Bay) leads with a .318 average. He trails Ohtani by 1.02.
In total, only 28 players in Major League Baseball history have won the Triple Crown. The most recent was Miguel Cabrera (40-Detroit), who is retiring after this season, who won the Triple Crown in 2012 with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs, and 139 RBIs.카지노사이트
If Ohtani, who becomes a free agent at the end of this season, manages to win the Triple Crown as a hitter for the first time in 11 years, his price tag will soar even higher.
U.S. online media outlet Paul Terrori recently predicted that Ohtani’s price tag would surge past the previously estimated $500 million (KRW 65.48 billion) to $700 million (KRW 91.67 billion).
The outlet cited data from Sportrac, a website that covers contract information for American sports players. According to the report, Ohtani is worth a total of $202 million over six years as a free agent pitcher and $326 million over nine years as a hitter.
Add to that the marketing ripple effect that Ohtani would bring, and he could be a $700 million player.