Shohei Ohtani is one of the most unique players MLB has ever seen because of his ability to pitch and hit at high levels. Now in a season where he’s been unable to pitch because of Tommy John surgery, he could become one of MLB’s most unique players for another reason.
Ohtani to open play on July 5 is leading the National League in home runs, is No. 2 in batting average, and No. 3 in RBIs. He has a legitimate shot at winning the National League Triple Crown by leading the NL in batting average, home runs and RBIs.
The Triple Crown alone is a rare feat. Only 18 players have ever done it, and only five players have done it since integration in 1947. All five of those players were in the American League. Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers was the last winner back in 2012, becoming the first player to do so since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
Ohtani is chasing an even more formidable ghost.
The last NL Triple Crown came all the way back in 1937 when outfielder Joe Medwick won it for the St. Louis Cardinals.
There’s a very real chance for Ohtani to pull this off.
He’s comfortably leading the NL in home runs with five more than Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker. Walker’s chances to track down Ohtani are damaged because he only faces the Dodgers four more times (he has nine homers in nine games against LA this season).
Ohtani is only one point off the batting average lead behind Padres utilityman Jurickson Profar, who is having a career year batting .317.
RBIs will be tougher for Ohtani, particularly because he’s been leading off and his chances to drive in runs depend largely on the bottom of the Dodgers order getting on base and turning the lineup over. Ohtani has 64 RBIs this season. Marcell Ozuna for the Braves has 67, while Alec Bohm of the Phillies leads the NL with 70 driven in.
Ohtani will be in the leadoff spot for the foreseeable future since Mookie Betts is still working his way back from a broken hand. While that could damage his chances of driving in runs, it hasn’t had a huge impact so far. In 16 games as a leadoff man Ohtani is hitting .328 with eight home runs and 18 RBIs. Those are better per-game marks than his .314 average, 19 homers and 46 RBIs in 69 games batting second.
This will be worth keeping a close eye on the rest of the way because Ohtani, who seems to make history every time he puts on a uniform, has a real shot at doing something that hasn’t been done in nearly 100 years.
