When you have hundreds of media members constantly trying to track you down and watch your every movement, a little silence and quiet time can go a long way.
Angels pitcher and outfielder Shohei Ohtani has seen the spotlight shine down significantly on him in the past few weeks. The Japanese baseball player has become somewhat of a revolution and has been compared to Babe Ruth for his two-way ability to pitch and hit.
According to USA Today, three Japanese exchange students were in attendance at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Friday night to see the Angels and Royals do battle. The three woman were reportedly cheering so loudly when Ohtani was at the plate that the Angels dugout notified security at the park to inform the students to quiet down. Yup, fans, that paid money to watch Ohtani play, were told to shut up.
With a crowd of only 15, 011, the sound carried through the stadium and definitely caught the attention of the superstar.
“I was aware of that,’’ Ohtani said, “but I wasn’t the one that asked for that. (The Angels) just did it so everyone could focus at the plate.”
Ohtani’s translator further explained the request to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
“He heard it, he’s thankful for the cheers,’’ said Ippei Mizuhara. “But at the plate, he likes to focus and block out the noise.’’
Ohtani finished the game going 2-for-4 including his first major league double, and pumped his batting average up to .367 with a MVP-like 1.191 OPS. Perhaps the silence helps?
On the mound, the 23-year-old is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA, and became the first player since the Great Bambino back in 1919 to smack three home runs in between pitching starts.
Ohtani is scheduled to face the Royals on Sunday in his third start of the season.
Baseball fans are going to be as loud as possible now whenver he pitches or bats, aren’t they?
