Halos Today

Angels News: Shohei Ohtani Has Phil Nevin's Blessing to Take the Mound in All-Star Game

The Halos two-way star got the go-ahead to pitch in the Midsummer Classic.

Matt Wagner

Angels News: Shohei Ohtani Has Phil Nevin's Blessing to Take the Mound in All-Star Game
Angels News: Shohei Ohtani Has Phil Nevin's Blessing to Take the Mound in All-Star Game /
In this story:

Shohei Ohtani will take the field in Seattle as an American League All-Star on July 11th.

That was decided before the rest of the All Star starters were announced on Thursday after Ohtani was the top vote-getter earlier in the process.

Now, what exactly the Angels two-way superstar do that night at T-Mobile Park? That remains unclear, but if the frontrunner for the AL MVP Award wants to take the mound during MLB's annual showcase of the sport's best, Angel manager Phil Nevin won't stand in the way of that as he told Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times on Thursday.

Ohtani's had another incredible season both on the mound in 2023, pitching his way to an ERA just north of three at 3.02 and leading the AL in strikeouts per nine innings with an even mark of 12.

He reached the double-digit strikeout threshold with 10 in his last start, one where he made history that we haven't seen in the modern era -- something that's become a regular occurrence since Ohtani made the jump to MLB.

His heavy fastball and wipeout splitter will be something that fans across the sport will want to see, and Ohtani has the blessing to show his arsenal off if he so chooses.

Personally, I don't see an extra inning or two having a negative affect on the Angels star, and it would be great to see him have a quick outing if he opts to go that route.

With Ohtani leading the charge, the Angels are very much in contention to reach the playoffs for the first time in nine years as they currently just outside of the third AL wild card spot.

The baseball icon has had another historic year and he's trying to will the Angels to heights they haven't seen in almost a decade -- both with his electric left arm and powerful bat.

We'll see shortly if Ohtani will show off that arm in the Midsummer Classic.

Published
Matt Wagner
MATT WAGNER

Matt Wagner was born and raised in southern California, and he lived there before moving to Colorado and getting his B.A. in Communications from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 2022. He relocated back to southern California in 2023 and is looking forward to covering the teams that mean so much to his home area. Some of his past work is in Bleacher Report, Dodgers Tailgate, and, most recently, Colorado Buffaloes Wire. Aside from writing, you can probably catch him petting the nearest dog or eating some good Mexican food.

Home/Angels News