Shohei “Idoryu” Ohtani, 29, is parting ways with the Los Angeles Angels after six years in Major League Baseball (MLB). Fans are preparing to send him off in tears.
Japanese media outlet News Post Seven reported on Sunday that “Otani is likely to leave the team after the season ends. Many fans are still wearing his jersey, and one fan thanked him with tears in his eyes.”

On July 17, the Angels announced that “Ohtani has been placed on the 10-day disabled list (IL) with a side strain and is expected to miss the remainder of the 2023 season.” Ohtani had been bothered by a sore right side in September, which ultimately sidelined him for the rest of the season.

After showing signs of fatigue in August, Ohtani took the mound for the first game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 24, but was pulled after just 1⅓ innings due to elbow soreness. “Ohtani has suffered a torn medial collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow and will not pitch for the remainder of the season,” the Angels announced after game two of the doubleheader.

In early September, he felt pain in his right lateral side during batting practice, and after batting second in the lineup against Oakland on April 4 (0-for-3 with two strikeouts), he was sidelined for 11 games. He didn’t even come off the bench once. On April 12 against Seattle, he made a surprise appearance in the lineup as the No. 2 메이저사이트 designated hitter, but the Angels soon revised the roster and removed Ohtani’s name. He became a “ghost player” on the roster and was eventually placed on the disabled list.
Ohtani finished the year with a .304 batting average, 44 home runs, 95 RBIs, 102 runs scored, 20 doubles, and a 1.066 OPS in 135 games as a hitter, and a 10-5 record with a 3.14 ERA in 23 games and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings as a pitcher. As of April 18, Ohtani ranks first in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) according to both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. He leads Baseball Reference (10.1) by a wide margin over second-place Mookie Betts (Los Angeles Dodgers, 8.0), and leads Fangraphs (8.9) over Betts (8.1). At this rate, he could win the American League MVP for the second time in two years after 2021.