On a balmy 82-degree night, the crowd’s energy was through the roof.

When Shohei Ohtani batted, the crowd always stopped what they were doing, whipped out their phones, and prepared themselves for whatever incredible achievement they may be witnessing.

The fact that the event occurred in Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, with its rabid audience of 35,890 people who should have been pulling against Ohtani, makes it all the more intriguing.

True to form, Ohtani delivered the type of heroics that the crowd had hoped for.

In the first inning, a magnificent fly ball down the right field line hooked foul but still managed to knock out a light panel on the LED board in the upper deck.

A double off the right-center field wall came four pitches later, leaving his bat at 110 miles per hour.

In the second inning, he Һit a soaring liner into the right field corner, which led to his eighth triple in the major leagues.

His season total now stands at 19 after a walk in the fourth inning was followed by successful thefts of second and third.

Even though the Angels were seeking to add on their two-run lead in the top of the ninth, the home crowd still booed when Ohtani’s final at-bat stopped before it began due to an intentional walk.

The finest player in the sport and a strong candidate for AL MVP this year delivers that much enthusiasm to every game.

Despite the fact that his right elbow needs to mend before he can showcase his other incredible talent—pitching—for the time being.

Ohtani is entertaining to watch and root for regardless of the team he plays for.

You may still feel a part of the Ohtani experience by adding him to your fantasy baseball roster, even if he doesn’t wear your favorite team’s uniform.

Ohtani’s versatility to play either first base or pitcher both a boon and a bane for fantasy managers, depending on the league. However, most leagues do not combine his batting and throwing stats.

Ohtani will not be a dual threаt again for some time because of a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, which will keep him from pitching for the rest of this season and all of 2024. However, this only makes it more convenient for fantasy managers to use him as a bench player.

Because he could not be substituted as a pitcher without giving up the DH spot, Ohtani’s Һitting stats suffered when he Һit and pitched at the same time prior to last season, when MLB modified its rule.

Ohtani most likely benefited from it. This season, in 97 at-bats as the starting pitcher, he Һit.372/.485/.731 with seven home runs. As a designated Һitter solely, he Һit.305/.409/.666.

Of course, we all know that correlation does not imply causation. It is unknown how the increased pressure of pitching affected Ohtani’s hitting, given he batted worse when he was on the mound last season (177 OPS points poorer, to be exact).

We do know that Ohtani will continue to put all of his energy into hitting while he recovers from his second Tommy John surgery, just like he did after his first. His recent efforts suggest that, even with his right elbow extensively cushioned, he will remain an оffensive threаt. He is currently on pace to become the first player in his league to lead in home runs and triples in the same season since Hall of Famer Jim Rice in 1978. Not to mention he also leads the AL in hits, doubles, triples, home homers, and OPS.

The extent to which Ohtani’s pitching contributes to his fantasy value is an open question heading into next year.

According to the National Fantasy Baseball Championships (NFBC), he was the sixth overall pick in mixed league drafts this year.