Manager Nevin of the Major League Angels has revealed that Shohei Otani's first pitch in the open game will be one day earlier than originally planned, and will be against the Athletics on the 28th of this month.

Pitcher Shintaro Fujinami, who transferred to the Athletics from this season, may also pitch for the first time in an open game, and if it does, it will be a throwing match between two students in the same grade who have been attracting attention since high school.

This was revealed by Director Nevin in an interview with the press before the practice on the 22nd, and Ohtani will be pitching for the first time in the open game against the Athletics on the 28th of this month.

The original schedule was for the Brewers game on the 1st of next month, but it has been pushed forward by one day.



According to Nevin, it was at the request of Otani himself, so there is no change in the plan to participate in the White Sox game on the 26th and the Giants game on the 27th as a designated hitter.

On the 28th, pitcher Shintaro Fujinami, who transferred to the Athletics from this season, may pitch for the first time in an open game, and if it does, it will be a throwing match between two people in the same grade who have been attracting attention since high school.



Otani plans to return to Japan after pitching on the 28th to join the Japanese national team in the WBC = World Baseball Classic, and Manager Nevin said, "He will be on an airplane on March 1st." was

Otani Camp's first actual battle style pitching, 3 strikeouts, etc.

On the 22nd, Ohtani participated in a training camp in Tempe, Arizona, where he practiced pitching in the bullpen for the first time in four days and threw 24 pitches.

After that, for the first time in this camp, I faced a real-life pitching practice against a batter, and threw 39 pitches against 7 people.



The temperature in the morning was a chilly 13 degrees Celsius, and the conditions were harsh with occasional strong winds of 25 meters per second. He struck out, and his fastest speed was 97 mph, marking about 156 km.

In addition, as a measure against the time limit between pitches called "pitch clock" introduced this season, a timer is placed behind the catcher during practice, and when there are no runners, a new rule is to pitch within the required 15 seconds. I was checking for compatibility.



Otani, who answered the interview after the practice, said, "The wind was strong, but the numbers are fine so far. There was no problem with the pitch clock, and I think the control was good. I wish I could raise it a little more. There are some parts, but I think it was good enough at the moment.”

Countermeasures against "pitch clock"

The "pitch clock" is an urgent need for pitchers, but Ohtani showed even more ingenuity during his pitching practice in the bullpen that day.

On this day, after Ohtani finished pitching, he didn't immediately receive the return ball from the catcher. Instead, he turned his back to the catcher and walked toward the mound, telling the catcher what type of pitch to throw next using a device attached to his left arm. rice field.



The pitch clock begins when the pitcher receives the ball, and must start pitching within 15 seconds if there are no runners, and within 20 seconds if there are runners.



Ohtani had devised a way to avoid the time limit on the pitch clock by telling the pitcher what type of pitch to throw next before the timing started.



In fact, in practice on this day, I was able to start the next pitching movement in about 10 seconds after receiving the ball.



The WBC will not use a pitch clock at this year's tournament, but Ohtani is rushing to adapt to the new rules for the major league season ahead of joining the Japanese national team early next month.

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