Shohei Ohtani was the National League’s home run champion last season. This year, his 23 home runs led the NL. He has a career OPS of 1.008 and became the first player in MLB history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season.
But early in his MLB career, the three-time Silver Slugger was viewed solely as a pitcher.
“At the beginning of his career, when he first came to the U.S., people didn’t think he was a hitter,” Los Angeles Angels insider Jeff Fletcher said to Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain. “They said, ‘He’s just a pitcher.