Bollinger Newsletter: 'He's starting to do Shohei things again'

Hello! Welcome to the fourth edition of the new Angels Beat newsletter. Rhett Bollinger has covered the Angels for MLB.com since 2019. Prior to that, he covered the Twins for eight seasons. 

ARLINGTON — It was simply a matter of time before two-way star Shohei Ohtani was going to break out at the plate after a slow start offensively through the first week of the season. 

Ohtani did just that, homering twice against the Rangers in a 9-6 win at Globe Life Field on Friday. Ohtani entered with a pair of doubles but no homers through his first seven games, but he changed that in a hurry, as he homered on the first pitch of the game from right-hander Matt Bush. He later added a two-run shot in the fifth as part of a five-run inning that gave the Halos the lead after Angels manager Joe Maddon went with the unconventional strategy of intentionally walking Texas shortstop Corey Seager with the bases loaded in the fourth.

“He’s starting to do Shohei things again,” Maddon said. “He’s fine. He almost hit one out to left field, too. It was only a matter of time. You just have to leave him alone and let him work with the hitting coaches.” 

Ohtani uncharacteristically struggled in his start on the mound Thursday, allowing six runs over 3 2/3 innings. He was hurt by a grand slam from Jonah Heim on an 0-2 splitter, which is usually an unhittable pitch from Ohtani. 

Ohtani pointed to a flaw with his pitching mechanics after the game, but he quickly bounced back at the plate with his two-homer performance the next day. It’s become routine for Ohtani, as he homered in an astounding eight games the day after he pitched last year, when he won the AL MVP Award unanimously.  

“He’s just different,” Maddon said. “I don’t know anybody else that can do what he’s done and pitch and hit on the same day, and then the next day, play a game as though nothing happened physically. Nothing bothers him. It’s amazing.” 

MADDON ON JACKIE ROBINSON

Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day across baseball Friday, as this year marks the 75th anniversary of Robinson breaking MLB’s color barrier with his debut for the Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Players not only wore the No. 42 to honor Robinson, but for the first time, the No. 42 was in Dodger blue for all 30 clubs. 

Maddon said he’s always loved the tradition of Jackie Robinson Day and he has long been a student of Robinson’s history and his impact on the game. Maddon pointed to Lee Lowenfish’s biography of Branch Rickey, “Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman” as one of his favorite reads. Rickey famously was the one who signed Robinson with the Dodgers in 1945. 

“I’m a big fan of Jackie Robinson,” Maddon said. “I was a fan before I read the book, but that really highlighted a lot of it. And then Don Zimmer was a teammate of Robinson’s and he’d talk to me about it also. We weren’t there, so we can’t fully grasp it. You read books and watch movies and you hear second-hand accounts, but for him to live his life the way he did it every day — with class — is pretty amazing.” 

Maddon also recalled that when he was managing the Rays, they played the final game at the old Yankee Stadium in 2008 and he asked if he could buy a picture of Robinson that hung in the manager’s office with the word “courage” under it. But visiting clubhouse manager Lou Cucuzza was nice enough to give it to Maddon without him having to pay for it. 

“Anything that’s attached to Jackie Robinson and what he represents and what he did and how difficult that was and how well he handled it, I’m a huge fan of,” Maddon said. “And for a lot of different reasons.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• Mike Trout obliterated his second home run of the season Thursday against the Rangers, as it traveled a projected 472 feet, per Statcast. It was the longest homer hit by a player in the Majors this year and was the fourth longest for Trout since Statcast was introduced in 2015.

• Ohtani remains just as marketable as ever, as he’s set to earn the most in endorsements by an MLB player since Derek Jeter in 2014.

• MLB.com’s Mike Petriello wrote a deep dive on what skill Ohtani became elite at during the second half of last season and why it could lead to an even better year on the mound in 2022. 

• Shortstop David Fletcher was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hip strain and there’s no timetable for his return just yet. The Angels have been using Andrew Velazquez at shortstop in Fletcher’s absence and will continue to use a combination of Tyler Wade, Matt Duffy and Jack Mayfield at second base. 

TRIVIA

Who was the first Angels pitcher to win an AL Cy Young Award?

A. Chuck Finley

B. Bartolo Colon

C. Jered Weaver

D. Dean Chance

THIS WEEK IN ANGELS HISTORY 

Right-hander Jered Weaver is one of the more underrated pitchers in Angels history. He recorded the 1,500th strikeout of his career on April 16, 2016, against the Twins. Weaver reached the milestone by striking out Miguel Sanó in the third inning at Target Field. Weaver became just the third Angels pitcher to reach that mark with the franchise, joining Nolan Ryan (2,416 strikeouts) and Finley (2,151). Weaver finished with 1,598 strikeouts in 11 seasons with the Angels and 1,621 in his 12-year career, as he played his final season with the Padres in ’17. 

TRIVIA ANSWER

D. Dean Chance, who won the AL Cy Young Award in 1964, went 20-9 with a league-leading 1.65 ERA in 278 1/3 innings. He also led the league with 15 complete games and 11 shutouts. His 1.65 ERA and 11 shutouts remain franchise records. He was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame in August 2015 and passed away later that year. 

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