‘AL first-place vote-getter’ Ohtani looks to repeat his All-Star performance after two years away

The Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani will try to repeat his Major League Baseball All-Star performance.

Major League Baseball (MLB) on Wednesday announced the pitchers and bench players for the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. MLB selects the starting fielders at each position by fan vote, while the pitchers and bench players are selected by player vote and commissioner’s recommendation. Thirteen pitchers, the top nine vote-getters at each position, and 10 bench players will make up the 33-player roster, totaling 66 players. Ohtani finished fifth among pitchers in the American League in player voting.

Ohtani was already voted American League Designated Hitter by the fans. This year, Major League Baseball’s fan voting was a second round of voting for the final two players at each position after the first round of voting, and Ohtani was exempt from the second round because he finished first overall in American League voting. Ohtani received a whopping 2,646,307 votes. He was one of 13 American League pitchers named to the All-Star team for the third consecutive year.안전놀이터

Ohtani set a major league record by starting and batting designated hitter in 2021. For the first time ever, the MLB implemented the “Ohtani Rule” in the All-Star Game, which allows a player to bat designated for assignment after a pitching change. During his “superstar” years, the MLB set up a special stage for him. Ohtani pitched one scoreless inning as a pitcher and went 0-for-2 as a hitter.

Last year’s secretariat pick for both pitching and hitting, he gave up his All-Star pitching appearance to start the Angels’ first game of the second half. “There are a lot of pitchers who are better suited for the job than me,” Ohtani said humbly. Ohtani, who had a shocking first-round exit in the 2021 Home Run Derby, also declined to participate in last year’s Home Run Derby, saying it was “too strenuous.”

This year, for the first time in two years, Ohtani could start both games. According to DailySports, Ohtani is considering whether to start this year. Angels manager Phil Nevin said, “It’s not something I can decide. It’s up to him to decide. It’s up to him,” he said, indicating that he would defer to Ohtani’s wishes on his playing schedule.

“It’s a different routine for him to come in as a designated hitter and then make a relief appearance, but he did it in the WBC in March, so we’ll support what he wants to do,” Nevin added. At the WBC in March, Ohtani pitched the ninth inning as the designated hitter and then pitched a perfect ninth inning to preserve Japan’s title. Will Ohtani be pitching in relief at the All-Star Game?

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be held on June 12 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, USA. The day before, the All-Star Game Home Run Derby will take place. The All-Star Game will be broadcast live on SPOTV ON and SPOTV NOW.