NEW YORK The scene was electrifying on a balmy 82-degree baseball night.

Fans would stop what they were doing every time Shohei Ohtani went to the plate, grab their phones, and concentrate on what incredible achievement they might be about to watch.

The most intriguing aspect, though, was that the incident occurred in the New York Mets’ stadium, where the 35,890-strong fan base should have been rooting for Ohtani to lose.

Of course, in true Ohtani form, he delivered the heroics that everyone was hoping to see.

One memorable fly ball, just hooking foul in the first inning, went down the right field line and struck a light panel in the LED board on the upper deck.

Four pitches later, he hit a rocket double off the wall in right-center field with his bat traveling at 110 mph.

His major league-leading eighth triple came in the second inning on a booming liner into the right-field corner that sent him sprinting around the bases.

After a walk in the fourth inning, he then stole second and third bases in quick succession to raise his season total to 19.

Boos rained down on the home club even in the top of the ninth when the Angels looked to extend a two-run lead when Ohtani’s final at-bat stopped before it ever got started with an intentional walk.

This season’s potential AL MVP and top performer in the sport adds that much excitement to every game.

All the while, he is unable to pitch, another one of his extraordinary gifts, until his right elbow is fully recovered.

Whether or not Ohtani is wearing the uniform of your favorite team, he is incredibly entertaining to watch and support.

not pitching, just hitting

By including Ohtani on your fantasy baseball squad, you can still feel a part of the Ohtani experience even if he doesn’t represent your favorite team.

Because most leagues do not let his hitting and pitching stats be counted simultaneously, Ohtani’s unique ability to fill in as both a hitter and a pitcher has made him both a blessing and a nightmare for fantasy managers.

Ohtani won’t be a dual threat for long since a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament will probably prevent him from throwing the rest of this season and all of 2024. However, this merely simplifies the choice for fantasy managers, who simply assign him to the utility position and leave him there.

Ohtani’s batting statistics suffered before MLB’s rule change last season because he couldn’t be replaced as a pitcher without forfeiting the DH position in the lineup.

Ohtani undoubtedly benefited. He started 97 of the games this season, during which time he hit 372/.485/.731 with seven home runs. This is in contrast to his 305/.409/.666 line while playing just DH.

Of fact, a correlation does not always indicate a cause. There is no way to know how much the increased burden of pitching affected Ohtani’s hitting because he actually batted worse last season when he was on the mound (177 OPS points lower, to be exact).

We do know that Ohtani will devote all of his attention to hitting for the foreseeable future, much like he did when recovering from his first Tommy John surgery. With a right elbow that is heavily protected, he should continue to be a force on offense based on his recent performance. He’s currently on pace to become the first player to lead his league in both home runs and triples in the same season since Hall of Famer Jim Rice in 1978. Additionally, he leads the AL in runs scored, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS.