Shohei Ohtani Is First Player to Qualify As Hitter, Pitcher in Same Season

The two-way star keeps making history.

In a season filled with history-making achievements, Shohei Ohtani concluded his 2022 campaign with one more landmark.

By completing the first inning against the A’s on Wednesday, Ohtani logged his 162nd inning on the mound, making him the first player in MLB history to qualify statistically as both a hitter and a pitcher.

To qualify among the league leaders in rate stats like batting average an ERA, players much reach certain plate appearance and innings pitch benchmarks. Hitters must have at least 3.1 plate appearances per team game played (over 502 for a full season) and at least one inning pitched per team game (162 innings). Ohtani entered Wednesday’s season finale with 662 plate appearances and 161 innings thrown, both career highs.

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The reigning American League MVP retired the first 13 Oakland batters he faced on Wednesday, and was removed from the game after allowing one run on one hit and a walk. He struck out six batters on 69 pitches.

Ohtani has followed up his historic 2021 season with another sensational performance. He came into the final day of the regular season with an .877 OPS, 34 home runs and 95 RBIs to go along with a 15-8 record with a 2.35 ERA and 213 strikeouts on the mound.