Legendary Jang Hoon (84) from Japan, who has the most 3,085 hits in his Japanese professional baseball career, showed his affection for Shohei Ohtani (30, LA Dodgers), but still expressed his opposition to the double whammy of pitching.
On the 21st, the Japanese weekly magazine ‘Weekly Moonchun’ delivered Jang Hoon’s thoughts to the baseball park about Ohtani. Jang Hoon said, “I’m rooting for Ohtani because I like him. I watch every game on TV at home.” 안전 슬롯사이트
Jang Hoon, who is also famous as an avid commentator, made headlines by telling Ohtani that he was chosen as the best 9 because of his popularity and popularity, and that baseball is not about professional wrestling. You can’t make your body like that, you’re not an actor because you’re on TV all over the place. You need to train your lower body.
Above all, Jang Hoon has always been negative about Ohtani’s pitching and hitting combination. Since he joined the Nippon Ham Fighters in 2013, he has been skeptical of Ohtani’s bid for a pitching and hitting combination.
While Ohtani successfully played as both a pitcher and a batter, Jang is still opposed to the idea. “At first, I thought I should focus on being a pitcher. When I joined the team, I inspected the camp and saw him pitch in the bullpen, and I thought he was much better than Yu Darvish or Daisuke Matsuzaka. I’m still against the idea of a double whammy. It’s better to focus on one of the two in order to achieve high performance,” he said.
Ohtani, who has made a new major league history by pitching more than 130 innings for three consecutive years between 2021 and 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels, underwent surgery on his right elbow in September last year, and has been on hiatus as a pitcher this season. He will try to throw both pitches again next season, but it is questionable how long he will be able to play both pitches as he enters his 30s.
Jang Hoon said, “I think it’s better to concentrate on batting now. The Japanese advanced to the U.S. and won the title of home run champion by banking on their power and strength.” Wang Jeong-gi was also surprised and said, “Such a situation cannot be expected in our time.”
Last year, Ohtani became the first Asian player to become the home run king of the Major League by ranking first (44) in the American League. He is ranking first in the National League this year with 21 home runs in the Dodgers. He has high expectations for his second consecutive year.
The overall performance of the season is .318 with a batting average of 318 (94 hits in 296 at-bats), 21 home runs, 53 RBIs, 59 runs, 35 walks, 66 strikeouts, and 16 steals.391 slugging percentage. .615 OPS 1.006. NL home runs, runs, slugging percentage, OPS No. 1, batting average and hits No. 2, RBI and on-base percentage, and tied for 6th in stolen bases, aiming for MVP for the first time as a designated hitter with no contribution to defense.
“At the batter’s box, Ohtani does not raise his right foot but waits for the ball before catching it. It is best for a batter to hit with no-step or minimal movement like Ohtani,” Jang said. “However, since doing so does not provide energy, most players try to raise their feet straight or rebound to hit the ball. I cannot copy Ohtani even if I want to.”
On his marriage to basketball player-turned-wife, Mamiko Tanaka, in March, Jang said, “I strongly support marriage. My theory is that the sooner an athlete gets married, the better. When I see a child at home, I feel more responsible, and when I come home and see a child asleep, I think, “Yes, I will work hard tomorrow, too. Ohtani will continue to do well.”
Jang Hoon, a former left-handed outfielder, played 23 seasons for the Doei Flyers, Nippon-Ham, Yomiuri Giants, and Lotte Orion in the Japanese pro baseball league from 1959 to 1981. He played in 2,752 games with a batting average of 319,3085 hits, 504 homers, 1676 RBIs, 1523 runs, 1274 walks, and 319 steals with a .399 slugging percentage. Between 1967 and 1970, Jang was a slugger representing Japan’s baseball league, winning the title of the seven batting champions for four consecutive years.
Asked if he would like to join the Major League if he is an active player now, Jang said, “I will go. My salary will go up more than 10 times. I tell Japanese players not to go as much as possible for Japanese professional baseball fans, but considering the annual salary, anyone will go,” smiling.
