Inside The Pinstripes

Angels' Shohei Ohtani Crushes Home Run For First Career Hit at Yankee Stadium

Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani hit a home run in the first inning against the New York Yankees, his first hit at Yankee Stadium in his MLB career

Max Goodman

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK — It didn't take long for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to leave a lasting impression on baseball fans in the Bronx. 

In his first at-bat at Yankee Stadium of the season, under the lights on Monday night, the Angels designated hitter crushed a booming solo home run high into the right-field bleachers, giving Los Angeles an early lead.

The blast left Ohtani's bat at 117.2 mph, soaring 416 feet while garnering oohs and ahhs from fans in attendance.

Ohtani's 26th home run of the season is also his first hit in the Bronx of his career. While there was once a chance he would don pinstripes coming over from Japan, Ohtani started his big-league career 0-for-9 in Yankee Stadium (over three games in 2018).

With the kind of season Ohtani is having this year, a front-runner for the American League Most Valuable Player Award as we approach the All-Star break, success on the biggest stage comes as no surprise. 

The Japanese star entered play on Monday hitting .277 (71-for-256) with 25 homers, 59 RBI, 52 runs and an incredible 1.031 OPS.

"He's elite in the batter's box," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before first pitch on Monday afternoon. "Obviously, tremendous power, play discipline, really elite speed. He puts pressure on the defense with his speed and then obviously, he's a dominant power pitcher on the mound. To have that all wrapped up in one guy is truly impressive what he's doing here in 2021."

Ohtani is scheduled to toe the rubber on Wednesday, making his 12th start of the season. The right-hander has a 2.58 ERA over 59.1 innings to start the regular season. 

While the left-handed hitting version of Ohtani got the best of Yankees starter Michael King in the first inning, it was King that got the last laugh. After flying out to deep left in his second at-bat, Ohtani struck out by climbing the ladder, swinging through a 96-mph fastball in the fifth.

That was the final out King recorded as he was taken out by Boone after giving up a double to Anthony Rendon in the next at-bat. King ended up allowing six hits and three runs to go along with two walks and four strikeouts over 4.1 innings pitched. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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