It seems like Shohei Ohtani does something historic on a daily basis, but on Thursday, he came up just short at being alone in the history books.
And trust me: He was close. Ohtani even had Angels play-by-play broadcaster Wayne Randazzo fooled in the process.
Ohtani — the starter on the mound for the Angels’ game against the Athletics — went into his eighth-inning at-bat needing just a home run for the cycle. A homer would have made Ohtani the first starting pitcher in MLB history to hit for the cycle. And initially, it did seem like Ohtani was having another Cooperstown moment when he turned on a first-pitch slider from Richard Lovelady.
But man, listen to that call from Randazzo. He got a bit ahead of himself there.
"BASEBALL HISTORY COMING FOR SHOHEI!"
"…but it's caught at the wall" pic.twitter.com/2m9E0lUaIm
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 27, 2023
“Baseball history coming for Shohei! But it’s caught at the wall,” Randazzo announced. Just a brutally hilarious transition.
To be fair to Randazzo, everyone (even Ohtani) thought it was going to be a home run. And had it actually been a home run, that would have been a fantastic call. But it wasn’t it a home run — Ohtani flew out. Baseball can be cruel like that. He was a great sport about it, though.
If you can't get swelled up in the excitement of potential baseball history, then why even bother showing up? Sooooo close. Shohei is incredible. https://t.co/1kLGN0PRGq
— Wayne Randazzo (@WayneRandazzo) April 27, 2023
MLB fans also had jokes about the call.