Striking out Shohei Ohtani is no easy feat, but Australian pitcher Todd Van Steensel was able to do just that during the World Baseball Classic.
While the World Baseball Classic may be over, and Ohtani now a world champion after striking out teammate Mike Trout in the final, Van Steensel gave fans a unique insight into his mindset during the tournament. Specifically, when Van Steensel struck out Ohtani during pool play of the World Baseball Classic.
The video is a fun little breakdown of Van Steensel’s internal thought process in the moment, from fanboying over Ohtani to his pitching processes to get the strikeout. Plus, of course, Van Steensel had a hilarious inner celebration after getting Ohtani to swing and miss on a fastball.
Absolutely nobody asked for this, but this is a fun little breakdown of what went through my head as I faced Shohei Ohtani in the WBC
My main thought was “If he hits a home run, he’s supposed to. He’s the best… but if you get him out, that’s a fun memory to have forever” 😊 pic.twitter.com/FAOF76SHh7
— Todd Van Steensel (@toddvs35) March 23, 2023
Pretty insightful commentary!
[mm-video type=video id=01gw0axh4bqd4hxspq4c playlist_id=none player_id=01gp1x90emjt3n6txc image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gw0axh4bqd4hxspq4c/01gw0axh4bqd4hxspq4c-18a39a5048b9dacb8b3a1baa9d4bf895.jpg]