Shohei Ohtani's 5th homerun in 5 games ties Dodgers Record

 The heat dome has arrived where I live. As of 8:00 am this morning it already feels like 80 degrees and by mid-afternoon we should hit triple digits. Take all the necessary precautions, you know, drink plenty of water, take plenty of breaks, and if you work outside call in...seriously, it's going to be that hot. No job is worth dying over. You know the famous saying, you can get another job, you can't get another you.

Enough about the weather, each day in the news I read articles, or I watch a sports report on tv and I say, 'oh that's interesting'. Today, I need to talk about something extraordinary that's happening in the NL West. In my last blog I talked about the freak of nature that is Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani. I joked about him not being human because what he's currently doing is nothing short of amazing.

Ohtani hit his 5th homerun in five games this time against the Minnesota Twins helping his team win the game 4-3. While five homeruns is incredible, it happened last year when Aaron Judge accomplished the same feat with the New York Yankees. 

What makes Ohtani's accomplishment so amazing is that dude is a pitcher. He's amazing at offense and defense which is rare today right NBA? I've never seen so many 140 point games in a season but back to baseball, pitchers aren't typically expected to do much hitting. The manager usually tells them to go up there, take your three swings and sit down. If you want to help the team, bunt! Just don't destroy your shoulder or pitching arm.

In the National League, pitchers were required to bat each game they started but that changed in 2022. Now the teams can use a designated hitter just like the American League does. That's what makes Ohtani's feat so amazing...dude is better than most designated hitters! The average pitcher was like Bartolo Colon, excellent pitcher but dude has a grand total of 1 homerun his entire career. He was just supposed to go up, take his swings and get ready for the next inning. Instead, he created a viral moment by mashing one against the San Diego Padres. Viral because it isn't expected.

Remember Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox? He was a savant at hitting homeruns like dude didn't look like he was even trying. It was a gift and today Juan Soto reminds me of Manny's style. Of course, Soto stabbed the Yankees in the back, but I digress.

There are better pitchers than Bartolo Colon but Colon had a decent career, he won a Cy Young award and had a 21-win season. There are better pitchers than Shohei Ohtani but before he got injured dude was pitching like Roger Clemens. 

The record is eight straight games with a homerun last accomplished by Ken Griffey Jr. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts when asked if Ohtani can match or beat the record said, "Well, I don't know that answer. I do know if he has the same approach that he's had the last week, that green monster is very short. So any fly ball that he hits will be a homer. So, he's just got to continue to have that same approach when we go to Boston, and then we'll see what happens."

So he's basically saying, Ohtani needs to wake up, kiss his wife, put on his uniform and we'll see what happens. Thanks Dave, yeah thanks for nothing...I'm just kidding I actually love Dave Roberts as a manager. Ohtani's next at bat will be tomorrow against the Boston Red Sox and pitches against them on Sunday. You know what they say, records are made to be broken so like the manager said, we'll see.