Shohei Ohtani and MLB Pennant Drives 2021

(Published Sept.1, 2021)

By David A. Avila

Approaching the last full month of the season and the final weeks of summer, it’s time to evaluate the best of the best moments, players and teams in Major League Baseball. We’re looking at this in mostly old school manner, minus the barrage of stats. We do use some.

As we enter the month of September here’s the baseball world according to Uppercut Magazine.

The Man from Japan

One year after a 60-game shortened season and no fans allowed, 2021 has brought strange sightings never before seen; such as a man from Japan who can hit as well as pitch better than anyone else in history.

Shohei Ohtani is his name and he brings a brand of baseball not seen since a man named George “Babe” Ruth performed in Boston, not New York.

When the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim won the rights to claim Ohtani several years ago, more than a few ball clubs and experts saw his immense potential. No one could predict that the tall Japanese could dominate both as a pitcher and a hitter.

“What he is doing is unprecedented,” said John Schmoltz, a former Atlanta Brave pitching great. “No one has ever done what he is doing.”

Ohtani suffered through two seasons of injuries and when finally somewhat healthy, was at best mediocre in both pitching and hitting last year. Nothing prepared fans for his breakthrough this year.

Angel manager Joe Maddon saw the potential last year and this year, sparks of greatness were plainly visible to the veteran skipper.

Maddon had worked with many talented players in his more than 20 years of experience such as Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Mike Trout, he saw the immense talent oozing out of Ohtani and predicted in the spring season that the Japanese ballplayer would break out. Boy did he break out.

Ohtani had shown sparks of brilliance early in his MLB career as when he nearly tossed a perfect game against the Oakland A’s in 2018 while hitting three homers in the same week. Then the injuries came.

This year Ohtani blasted three homers off New York Yankee pitching at Yankee Stadium on the last day of June. Yankee fans were flabbergasted by the display of power by Ohtani who in one game rocketed a homer off a curve, then a change-up and finally a high and tight inside fastball. It gave Ohtani the homerun lead and he’s been leading the Major Leagues in homeruns ever since. Now he’s clubbed 42 homers and stolen 22 bases including stealing home against the Yankees on the last day of August. No other ballplayer has as many ways to help his club as Ohtani. We’re witnessing epic baseball history. Ohtani will for certain be selected the MVP in 2021, no need to consider anyone else in the American League.

NL Most Valuable Players

Bryce Harper, Fernando Tatis, Jesse Winker, Nick Castellanos and Max Muncy are all having great years.

Philadelphia Phillie outfielder Bryce Harper has shown when he is healthy, he can do what few others can do. Furthermore, he’s one of baseball’s best clutch hitters. You don’t want to be an opposing pitcher with Harper at bat.

Harper has 26 homers, 61 RBIS, a .302 batting average and 1.008 OPS. He leads the NL in OPS at the moment but his value to the Phillies is immeasurable. He is their leader.

San Diego shortstop Fernando Tatis has shown incredible talent but he’s injury prone though only 22 years old. He can do it all and has led the Padres in almost every offensive category. When he’s injured the Padres seem to slump. His valuable can be seen in his team’s inability to win without him.

Tatis has hit 36 homers with 81 RBIS and a .284 batting average and 1.007 OPS. Those are staggering numbers when you consider he has been injured. But his team may not make the playoffs.

Cincinnati Red outfielder Jesse Winker has been part of an offensive powerhouse and his 24 homers and 71 RBIS contribute mightily. He is among the top hitters for average at .307 and has an OPS of .954.

Winker does not strike out much and has a knack for getting on base. He is having a breakout year and its help the Reds compete.

Others who could still win the MVP with a good final month are fellow Reds Nick Castellanos and Joey Votto. Atlanta Braves Austin Riley and Freddie Freeman. Dodger infielder Max Muncy and San Francisco Giant shortstop Brandon Crawford.

NL Cy Young

Buehler and Wheeler and Burnes oh my.

All three names are this year’s leading pitchers for the NL Cy Young Award and all are seriously competing for the first time.

At the moment LA Dodger ace Walker Buehler has grabbed the reins and leads the NL with a 2.02 ERA, 13-2 record and 178 strikeouts. He also sports a WHIP of .092 which measures how many walks and hits he allows per game. He’s the stopper for the Dodgers who are in pursuit of the San Francisco Giants for first place in the Western Division.

Buehler became the ace last year, but this year he’s dominated almost every single game even when his stuff was subpar. That’s the mark of an ace.

Milwaukee pitcher Corbin Burnes has filthy stuff and does not allow many homers. His ERA may not be as low at 2.27 but his WHIP 0.94 lets you know that it’s pretty difficult to get on base against him. He has a 9-4 record with 189 strikeouts and is a significant reason the Brewers lead the NL Central.

Burnes is an ace and if he played in New York he would be celebrated like Jacob DeGrom.

Another new contender for this year’s Cy Young is Zack Wheeler the Philadelphia Phillie ace who has a 11-9 record and 3.01 ERA. He’s struck out 198 batters and sports a WHIP of 1.02. It was just a matter of time before the former Met pitcher gained traction with the Phillies.

Wheeler always had nasty stuff. It was always a wonder for me why he wasn’t one of the top pitchers every year. Well, he figured it out and now he truly has become one of the top aces.

Others still in competition are Max Scherzer (Dodgers), Brandon Woodruff (Brewers), Wade Miley (Reds), Kevin Gausman (Giants), Freddy Peralta (Brewers).

AL Cy Young

Gerrit Cole, Lance Lynn and Robbie Ray are the aces of their respective teams but only the first two will be competing in the playoffs.

New York Yankee fireballer Gerrit Cole has a 13-6 record with an ERA of 2.80 and WHIP of 0.99. When the Yankees were tail spinning toward oblivion he kept the Bombers in contention with stalwart pitching. Now the team has regained its footing and Cole still commands the opposition every time he steps on the mound. He has 200 strikeouts.

Chicago White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn was though to be a good addition for an already strong pitching staff. Instead, he has become one of the best pitchers in the AL and has a 10-4 record, 2.59 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 152 strikeouts in leading his team to first place in the AL Central.

Lynn doesn’t need overpowering stuff to navigate through a lineup. He uses guile, location and pinpoint control to defuse the opposition.

A third candidate for the Cy Young this year is Robbie Ray who is having a breakout year for the Toronto Blue Jays. Too bad they seem to have fallen out of the playoff race because Ray has a 10-5 record with 202 strikeouts, 2.59 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.

Ray always had the potential and this year he put it all together.

Others in consideration for the Cy Young are Chris Bassitt (Athletics), Chris Flexen (Mariners), Jose Berrios (Blue Jays), and Casey Mize (Tigers).

Playoff Contenders

A team many overlooked (except this publication) has won more games than any other team in the Major Leagues and that’s the San Francisco Giants.

San Francisco and Tampa Bay enter September tied with the best record in the Major Leagues at 84 wins and 48 losses. The Los Angeles Dodgers have the same win total but one more loss. They are a half game behind the Giants with 30 games to remaining.

Milwaukee Brewers lead the NL Central by 10 games over the Cincinnati Reds who are in second place in the Wild Card race tied with the San Diego Padres, at the moment.

Atlanta Braves lead the NL East by two and a half games over the pesky Philadelphia Phillies. The same Phillies are two and a half games in the Wild Card race as well.

AL

Tampa has an eight-game lead over the second place New York Yankees in the AL East who lead in the AL Wild Card race by only two games over the Boston Red Sox. The Oakland Athletics are only one game behind Boston in the AL Wild Card race.

Chicago White Sox have a massive 10 game in the in AL Central over the second place Cleveland Indians.

Houston Astros lead the AL West by five games over the second place Oakland A’s.

With only 30 games left in the baseball season two teams have the easiest schedule and could make their move. The New York Yankees in the AL and the Philadelphia Phillies both have weaker schedules than any of the other playoff contenders.