Shohei Ohtani produced a ridiculous .435/.606/.739 triple slash line over seven games and pitched 9.2 innings with a 1.86 ERA, but what may have solidified his World Baseball Classic (WBC) MVP award was his championship save and a final strikeout of Mike Trout.
Shohei Ohtani’s strikeout of Mike Trout to clinch Japan’s WBC title from Japanese TV 🔥 #WorldBaseballClassic
— Lineups (@lineups) March 22, 2023
As is tradition, Ohtani doesn’t just dominate in the realm of traditional baseball statistics — he is also an advanced stats darling.
The season is not here yet, but why not get a head start and jump in a Fantrax Classic Draft contest? Get a jump on the season with a Best Ball league or maybe a Draft and Hold. Or put some green on the line with a new season-long league to try and conquer. There’s no better time than now to get your baseball on!
Baseball Savant play-by-play data shows Shohei hit 100 mph 21 different times throughout the tournament on the mound and in the batter’s box. We’ve compiled that data and presented it below. Geez.
Ohtani 100 mph+ Events in the 2023 World Baseball Classic
| Date | Opponent | Method | Velocity | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/21/2023 | US | Pitch | 101.6 | 4-Seam Fastball to Mike Trout, ball |
| 3/21/2023 | US | Pitch | 101.5 | 4-Seam Fastball to Jeff McNeil, ball |
| 3/21/2023 | US | Pitch | 100 | 4-Seam Fastball to Mike Trout, strike swinging |
| 3/21/2023 | US | Hit | 114 | Single off David Bednar, 7th inning |
| 3/20/2023 | Mexico | Hit | 101 | Double off Giovanny Gallegos, 9th inning |
| 3/20/2023 | Mexico | Hit | 110.1 | Lineout off Patrick Sandoval, 4th inning |
| 3/16/2023 | Italy | Hit | 115.4 | Lienout off Ryan Castellani, 7th inning |
| 3/16/2023 | Italy | Pitch | 102 | 4-Seam Fastball to Vinnie Pasquantino, strike swinging |
| 3/16/2023 | Italy | Pitch | 100.6 | 4-Seam Fastball to David Fletcher, ball |
| 3/16/2023 | Italy | Pitch | 100.2 | 4-Seam Fastball to Dominic Fletcher, in play runs |
| 3/16/2023 | Italy | Pitch | 100.2 | 4-Seam Fastball to Nicky Lopez, foul |
| 3/16/2023 | Italy | Pitch | 100.2 | 4-Seam Fastball to Brett Sullivan, foul |
| 3/16/2023 | Italy | Pitch | 100.1 | 4-Seam Fastball to Sal Frelick, out |
| 3/16/2023 | Italy | Pitch | 100 | 4-Seam Fastball to Nicky Lopez, foul |
| 3/12/2023 | Australia | Hit | 113.2 | Home run off Will Sherriff, 448 feet |
| 3/11/2023 | Czech Republic | Hit | 118.7 | Double off Lukas Hlouch |
| 3/10/2023 | Korea | Hit | 108.7 | Double off Been Gwak |
| 3/10/2023 | Korea | Hit | 103.7 | Single off Won Jung Kim |
| 3/9/2023 | China | Hit | 110.2 | Double off Weiyi Wang |
| 3/9/2023 | China | Hit | 107.9 | Single off Jian Yi |
| 3/9/2023 | China | Pitch | 100 | 4-Seam Fastball to Ray Chang, ball |
We could write a romantic novel about every event on here, but one stood out.
In the 7th inning of the championship game, Ohtani hit a 114 mph single off Pittsburgh Pirates reliever David Bednar before warming up in the bullpen minutes later in the next half-inning.
Baseball players don’t do this. The hardest hitting, elite No. 3 hitter is never the game-closing flamethrower.
OHTANI JUST HIT A BALL 114 MPH
AND WENT HOME-TO-FIRST IN 4.16 SECONDS
MOMENTS AFTER WARMING UP IN THE BULLPEN
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) March 22, 2023
Lost in the data was a 101 mph double a night earlier that led off a comeback rally for Japan against Mexico in the semifinal.
SHOHEI OHTANI LEADOFF DOUBLE FOR TEAM JAPAN AND HE IS PUMPED!! 🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) March 21, 2023
Also impressive, in the quarterfinals, he pumped a 102 mph 4-seam fastball by Royals 1B Vinnie Pasquantino.
Ohtani, like some other elite pitchers, has the ability to get to an extra 2-3 miles per hour of velocity when he needs to in key moments. Pasquantino hadn’t seen that in tournament play yet.
Pasquantino looked back in disbelief after Shohei Ohtani fired a 102 mph fastball for the strikeout #WBC pic.twitter.com/qgECJhCsbH
— Dead Center (@Dead_Center__) March 16, 2023
How could we forget his 113.2 mph, tone-setting 448-foot bomb in the first inning against Australia on March 12th in the Tokyo Dome.
Come on, he almost punched a hole in a video screen of himself about 500 feet to right center. (Almost like the time he punched a hole in the roof of the Tokyo Dome in 2016).
Shohei Ohtani (1) 🇯🇵
World Baseball Classic 🌎Opponent: Australia 🇦🇺
Pitcher: Will Sherriff
Date: 3/12/23pic.twitter.com/9m442xPVn8— LAA Home Runs (@LAA_HR) March 13, 2023
Just a day earlier, he hit his (and likely the) hardest hit ball of the tournament against the Czech Republic, a 118.7 mph double.
Shohei Ohtani with a casual 118.7 mph double. 😳 pic.twitter.com/KBI0Ew2tKo
— MLB (@MLB) March 11, 2023
What Does This Mean for Ohtani’s Dynasty Stock?
In all seriousness, from a dynasty baseball standpoint, Ohtani was already arguably the number one ranked player per Fantrax’s Tyler Bowen, so Ohtani’s dominance in the WBC doesn’t affect that much.
What is interesting, though, is the possibility that the global reach Ohtani demonstrated — he became the first player with over 4 million Instagram followers — may have increased his price tag come free agency in the 2023 offseason.
Some analysts project Ohtani could become baseball’s first $500 million man, but Shohei himself has alluded to a desire to compete for World Series first and foremost, rather than chasing a paycheck. That means that whatever teams perform well this year may have increased odds of signing Ohtani this winter.
Bookies oddsmaker Adam Thompson gives the New York Mets an implied probability of 25% to sign Ohtani, with the New York Yankees (22.2%), Los Angeles Dodgers (18.2%), Texas Rangers (11.8%) and Boston Red Sox (11.1%) behind them.
Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki has also said he’s already invited Ohtani to come to Wrigleyville when his contract with the Los Angeles Angels is up, and St. Louis Cardinals fans are convinced that Ohtani’s friendship with their outfielder Lars Nootbaar means they have a shot at landing him (realistically, if the Cardinals are willing to pay, they do, considering their World Series odds over the next few seasons).
For now, Ohtani owners should enjoy their spoils and appreciate his greatness. Each of these free agency scenarios may affect his dynasty stock slightly depending on the quality of lineup around him or the team’s home ballpark, but that’s something we’ll only know when MLB free agency begins this November.