From Ohtani to MVP, the advice of Acuña Jr.

1. I AM NOT THE PRESIDENT of Shohei Ohtani’s fan club. But it’s also true that lately he doesn’t miss a beat. He always hogs an inning in La Novena, and it’s obvious that in this edition as well. Ohtani’s last start did not end as he would have liked, he took the loss despite allowing only two runs, but it gave him time to extend his streak of consecutive starts striking out 10 or more batters to six, in addition to consolidating his candidacy for the American League Most Valuable Player. Carlos Baerga, a former Puerto Rican baseball player who played 14 years in the majors, and former ESPN analyst, said in a direct interview on social networks that what Ohtani does is nothing extraordinary and it would be unfair for him to win the MVP. I disagree with him. There are hundreds of reasons, transformed into numbers, to argue my position. But I appeal to one that I feel is infallible and doesn’t require numbers. Ohtani is the only player in modern baseball to play in Major League Baseball as if he were playing in Little League. some details about the Japanese player’s latest performance. Shohei Ohtani reached his 15th career double-digit strikeout game. In doing so, he surpassed Masahiro Tanaka for the third most such games by a Japanese-born pitcher. He also broke a tie with Andrew Heaney for the fourth most games of 10 K or more in Angels history. With his 11 strikeouts on July 28, Ohtani reached 68 in his last 6 starts. The only player with more in a span of 6 starts in Angels history is Nolan Ryan. That figure also ties Shane Bieber in April 2021 for the most strikeouts in a 6-start span in a season over the last 3 campaigns. This marks Shohei Ohtani’s 9th start this season with double digits in strikeouts, moving him out of a tie with Corbin Burnes for the most such games this season. Tell me something Baerga.

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED to know that it’s a dream month in MLB, I invite you to take a look at the numbers of Austin Riley of the Atlanta Braves. The reigning World Series champions’ shortstop ripped the ball in July to the point of getting involved in a conversation that, in the history of the franchise, only involved two Hall of Famers: Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews. Riley’s 10 home runs and 11 doubles in July make him the third Braves player with double digits in both offensive statistics. That had only been done by Aaron in July 1961 (12 HR, 12 2B) and Mathews in August 1953 (11 HR, 10 2B). Those numbers may increase given that the Braves still have three games left in the month of July.

4. WHEN I WAS A SMALL BOY, just a few years ago, and dreamed back in Cuba of making it to the Major Leagues, my baseball coaches would teach me to swing down, looking for line drives or grounders. They insisted over and over again. Then it was part of the ABCs of the game. But time goes by and concepts change. Ronald Acuña Jr. knows this and took advantage of a game broadcast to give advice to the new generations about where modern baseball is headed…
5. NO, I WILL NOT WRITE TODAY about David Ortiz’s cannabis line. I imagine you already have all the information you need about his release. Don’t get me wrong, I’m saying it because of Big Papi’s fame and not because of the little plant. Today, as promised in the special edition of La Novena en Cooperstown, I will address one of the topics (there will be more) that was left over. It is about the value of playing in the Major Leagues. The topic came out of his home run and perreo story against Cuba in the 2006 Classic. Ortiz explained that, without demeaning the players who have played in other leagues around the world, MLB is where the chips are down. “They can mention whoever they want, but it’s one thing to bat there (abroad) and another thing to bat here. The horse is who bats there and here”. That’s how straightforward the only designated hitter in MLB history to enter the Cooperstown Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility was. Big Papi had words of praise for Chicago White Sox starter Jose Abreu. “Pito Abreu is the best Cuban ballplayer. It’s not a matter of hitting for one or two years, it’s a matter of keeping up and ‘Pito’ has been hitting like it is for ten years.”

7. OPENING PITCHER Daniel Castaño has spent his last three years in organized baseball in the minor leagues with sporadic promotions to the Majors with the Miami Marlins. Castaño, who sports a 2-7 record with a 3.81 ERA from 2020-2022, was once again called up by the Marlins to fill the rotation spot vacated by Max Meyer, who will undergo Tommy John surgery. However, the good news quickly turned to torment when he took a hard hit to the forehead in Thursday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds that forced his removal from the game. Castaño bounced back and left the game on his feet, but this hit will likely keep him off the field for several days and, consequently, out of a chance to earn a permanent spot in the rotation for the Fish.
8. IN THE LORD’S VINEYARD we can find everything. There are saints, righteous, cheats, wicked and a long etcetera. But this time I will limit myself to remembering a rogue team that on a date like today’s, July 29, but in 1908, starred in one of the most bizarre events in the history of baseball. The team was called Pine Bluff and was playing against the Helena ninth team in the Arkansas State League. Helena’s pitcher, John McFarlan, was dominating his opponent to the point of getting 26 consecutive outs without anyone being able to get on base. But, with one out left to complete the perfect game, the Pine Bluff batter refused to come out to bat and the umpire had no choice but to award Helena a 9-0 win by forfeit. According to the rules, since McFarland did not face 27 batters, it is not official to consider the game a perfect game.
9. TOMMY MORRISSEY is a name you probably won’t be able to associate with major league baseball. Not now, but who knows in the future. He’s going to have a tough time. There are hundreds of thousands of players from different geographies trying to earn a place in the best league in the world, the only one that guarantees you transcend in all the countries where this sport is played. But this kid, Morrissey, has guts that will take him to the place he sets his mind to. Watch what this kid is capable of doing and maybe, when you finish watching it, you’ll have the same desire as I do, to stand up and applaud him.