When Shohei Ohtani hits a home run, you know it immediately. First there’s the bat crack that one could make ASMR compilations out of, and then it’s just the body language. He twists, connects, watches it go, and starts a slow trot to first, because he knew as soon as he hit it that the ball was leaving the park. Everyone else just has to stand and watch.
During the All-Star Game on Tuesday night, the unlucky pitcher on the receiving end of said bat crack was the Red Sox’s Tanner Houck, who got the ball for the AL in the third behind rumored Dodgers target Tarik Skubal. Jurickson Profar and Ketel Marte got on base with a single each, and then it was Ohtani’s turn. He saw a splitter and slider, both of which he took to get to a 2-0 count, before Houck threw hanging splitter that ended up exactly where Ohtani liked it.
Twist, connect, crack. Joe Davis noted on the call that American League right fielder Juan Soto didn’t even move. Mic’d up, he just watched it sail clear above his head into right field.
Shohei Ohtani’s majestic three-run homer in the All-Star Game marked multiple first-of-their-kind oddities for Dodgers star
Like seemingly everything Ohtani has done this season, it was a first for him in multiple regards. It was, weirdly enough, his first three-run homer of the year. He became the first player to win an All-Star Game as a pitcher (2021) and hit a home run in his ASG career. He was the second Japanese-born player to hit a home run in the All-Star Game, and the first to watch it go into the stands (Ichiro Suzuki hit an inside-the-parker in 2007).
