TEMPE, Ariz. – Baseball had seen nothing like Shohei Ohtani‘s unanimous AL MVP season in over a century.
With the new season arriving quickly for his Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani is eager to make more history.
“I feel like I can’t be doing the same thing as last year, to have the same stats as last year,” Ohtani said Tuesday through his interpreter at the Angels’ spring training complex. “I need to get better and keep on improving, so that’s the plan.”
Ohtani’s stats were absolutely daunting in 2021: A 9-2 record with a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts over 130 innings on the mound, and a .965 OPS with 46 homers and 100 RBIs at the plate.
Even after the most impressive two-way season since Babe Ruth’s heyday, Ohtani remains unsatisfied.
“Obviously, skills-wise, there’s room for improvement,” Ohtani said. “But physically, I already feel a lot stronger than last year, so I think we’re on a good start.”
Ohtani wants to do more in every area, and he’s hoping that…