Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was taken aback when star Shohei Ohtani threw a pitch more than 101 miles per hour.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani accomplished an incredible feat Saturday. Ohtani threw the fastest pitch in his MLB career, when he clocked one at 101.7 miles per hour. That throw impressed Ohtani’s manager, Dave Roberts.
“I think you can’t take the competitor out of the player,” Roberts said, per ESPN. “There’s a little bit of stress, and that’s when you start to see 100s and trying to bully guys. No one knows himself better than he does, and I thought he was in control. Still good to see triple digits.”
Ohtani accomplished that achievement in just his third mound start for the club. He is finally pitching this season, after exclusively just batting last year.
Roberts is going to keep an eye out for how Ohtani feels, after going two innings Saturday.
“Getting Shohei through two innings throwing the ball the way he did is certainly a positive,” Roberts said. “I didn’t know it was 102 [mph]. I just saw 100, so no, I didn’t expect that. Now I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that he feels good coming out of today.”
The Dodgers are hoping to repeat as World Series champions. Los Angeles is currently 52-32, and first in the National League West.
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Shohei Ohtani wants to keep pitching for the Dodgers
Ohtani was simply on fire in his start Saturday. He threw first-pitch strikes against all the Kansas City Royals batters he faced. He finished his day on the mound with a walk and a strikeout, while allowing just one hit.
“I’m happy that I was able to attack the zone,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “There’s some little things that I still need to work on, but overall I’m pretty happy.”
Ohtani actually threw a pitch 102 mph in Japan, so this is not his total career-high in velocity. That doesn’t matter to him, though.
“It’s something I don’t think I would be able to do in a live BP setting,” Ohtani said. “It’s nice to be able to hit this velo and see how my body reacts.”
The Dodgers are likely to keep using Ohtani from time to time on the mound. Los Angeles plays the Royals again on Sunday.