Last week, as Angels assistant pitching coach Dom Chiti strolled by the visiting weight room at Fenway Park, he noticed the team’s two-way star and defending American League MVP doing one of the things he often does: working out. Shohei Ohtani grimaced as he tried to lift a silver rubber ball about a foot in diameter and throw it against the wall. Suddenly he turned. “Heads up!” Ohtani called, whipping the ball at his coach.
The lob almost knocked over the 63-year-old Chiti, who braced himself for what he expected to be a 20-pound projectile … only to realize the ball was filled with air.