Brian Murphy: Oh no, not Shohei Ohtani!
Baseball’s unicorn is dead, murdered by the devil who mic dropped the Angels while you were sleeping.
Long live Shohei Ohtani.
A torn ulnar collateral ligament is the cruelest of pitching injuries. It wrecks seasons, ruins careers and robs fans of greatness. None greater than the two-way dynamo whose 19th century feats at the plate and on the mound should make him the highest-paid ballplayer of the 21st.
Damn the fates.
Ohtani is finished pitching in 2023, the unwelcome news of a late-night press conference in Anaheim that raises troubling questions about this once-in-a-generation talent.
He faces his second Tommy John surgery in just five years after walking off the mound at Angel Stadium Wednesday afternoon complaining about arm fatigue. And an uncertain future as this winter’s marquee free agent.
Ohtani’s pitching prowess is in the hands of orthopedists and skeptical general managers who may be interested in squeezing more at bats from the power hitter than strikeouts from the damaged hurler.
Suddenly, the record-shattering $500 million contract that was a fait accompli for an MVP slugger and Cy Young-caliber starting pitcher is in doubt -- unless or until Ohtani can fully recover.
But never mind the mind-boggling money.
Baseball fans are robbed of watching the most versatile player since Babe Ruth battle for an elusive postseason berth.
That includes the Twins faithful who had a 60 percent chance of seeing Ohtani pitch and hit Sept. 22-24 at Target Field.
My 12-year-old son was already crunching the rotation calendar to determine whether the Japanese sensation would start next month in the Angels’ only trip to Minnesota this season.
Meanwhile, the Angels also were forced Wednesday to return future hall of famer Mike Trout to the injured list because of a hand injury that has hampered him most of the season.
How two of the most talented players of their era have never shared the October spotlight that defines greatness is a pox on Angels management and a rueful conversation for another day.
All that matters is that Ohtani, 29, may never pitch again or amaze us with the speed, power and fierceness that made him a dual threat for the ages.
“Obviously, disappointing news; I feel terrible for him,” Angels GM Perry Minasian told reporters.
No telling how many more news conferences Minasian will be hosting for his hapless boss, Los Angeles owner Arte Moreno.
A second-half freefall left the Angels 10 ½ games behind the final American League wild-card spot entering play Thursday.
Trading prospects to supplement the roster was a misguided and desperate attempt at the deadline to convince Ohtani the organization cares about winning. His health may be in question. But there should be no shortage of suitors lining up to line Ohtani’s pockets.
No one should blame him for taking the money and running to a better contender. Perhaps 30 miles up Interstate 5 and the Dodgers or any number of East Coast spenders.
With Trout and hard-hitting Anthony Rendon plagued by injuries, Ohtani has been single-handedly carrying the Angels through another unfulfilling season.
He has 44 home runs with a 3.14 ERA and more strikeouts per nine innings than all but three starting pitchers. There is no context in which to place such a master craftsman.
This, after electrifying baseball fans in March during the World Baseball Classic.
All Ohtani did was hit the longest home run (448 feet) and throw the hardest pitch (102 mph) of the tournament. Not to mention clinching the championship for Japan by striking out Trout with two outs in the ninth inning in an epic duel.
The performance rocketed Ohtani’s profile as an international superstar who can hit, run and throw better than any ballplayer on the planet into a new orbit.
To be sure, Ohtani may not need a Tommy John operation. But his golden right arm may never be the same.
Despite numerous examples of pitchers returning stronger than ever after reconstructive surgery, Ohtani’s future as an ace could be determined by front-office bean counters who would prefer him to spin gold as a DH.
It has been 100 years since Ruth dominated on the mound for the Red Sox and transformed baseball with his long ball prowess for the Yankees.
Ohtani’s feats made him a global phenomenon. Someone to marvel at around the campfire like Big Foot.
To dump a hundred bucks at the box office so you can show your boy something he may never see again.
To share the stories with future generations like baseball fans have done for decades.
The unicorn is dead.
May the myth never die.
