Los Angeles Angels Ohtani Shohei is throwing the hottest pitch in the major leagues this year.
On the 12th (Korean time), in the 2023 Major League Baseball game against the Washington Nationals held at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, USA, Ohtani recorded 7 innings, 1 hit, 6 strikeouts, 6 walks and no runs, leading the team to a 2-0 victory and winning the season 2nd win.
On this day, Ohtani blocked a total of 92 pitches in 7 innings, and the sweeper shot 52 pitches, reaching 56.5%. He had only 16 fastballs with a top speed of 159 km/h. Other than that, he threw a sinker, cutter, splitter, and curveball. Major League Baseball’s official website said, “Ohtani broke the balance of Washington batters with various breaking balls.”
The sweeper, which Ohtani used as his main weapon, was added for the first time this year in ‘Game Day’, a text relay on the major league’s official website. Until last year, it was considered a modified slider and recorded as a slider, but from this year, it is recorded as a sweeper in the sense of ‘sweeping on the home plate’.
The difference from the slider is that it bends a little more horizontally. Compared to the slider, the speed is slightly lower, but the number of revolutions is higher and the horizontal movement is large, so it is difficult for batters to attack. On this day, Ohtani struck out on a swing and grounded a ball with a sweeper in every run crisis or game.
Other major leaguers also have a lot of players who use the sweeper, but the value of the sweeper is rising with Ohtanigi, the top star who is making a big success, recording an average ERA of 0.47 with 2 wins, 1 loss, 19 innings, 24 strikeouts, and 1 run in 3 games since the opening of this year. In an interview after the game on the 12th, Ohtani was asked, “When and from whom did you learn the sweeper?”
Ohtani replied, “I have been throwing sweepers all the time. It’s about the difference between a slider with a little curvature and a slider with a big bend, but the name sweeper has only started to be called recently. I’ve been throwing it since Japan, so I don’t remember who taught me when or when.”
As Ohtani said,먹튀검증 it is a breaking ball that has been thrown from Japan, but there must be a reason why Ohtani, whose direct ball usage rate was 44% by 2021, has significantly increased his sweeper usage rate since last year. Attention is focusing on whether Ohtani, who is evaluated as a candidate for the American League MVP and Cy Young Award at the same time this year, will continue to conquer the league with a sweeper.