Shohei Ohtani marque l’histoire

Il était le lanceur partant et le premier frappeur des Angels. La dernière personne (en saison régulière) à l’avoir fait? Jim Jones en… 1901.

Shohei Ohtani is leading off and is the starting pitcher for the Angels in their Spring Training game against the Padres.

The last player to do that in a regular season game was Giants pitcher Jim Jones on 9/30/1901, going 0-for-4 and allowing 6 ER against the Cardinals.
— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) March 21, 2021

Et il a aimé ça. Se donner son propre support offensif l’a stimulé.

Shohei Ohtani, who reached base three times as a DH and gave up 2 hits in 4 innings as a pitcher, says he'd love to be a 2-way player in same game during the season. "If I could get run support for myself, that will give me extra confidence on the mound to be more aggressive.''
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 21, 2021

Hyun-Jin Ryu a lancé un match simulé

Les Jays ne voulaient pas qu’il affronte les Yankees, contre qui il ouvrira la saison dans une dizaine de jours.

In a #BlueJays sim game this morning, from the club:

Hyun Jin Ryu:
5 IP • 77 pitches

Julian Merryweather:
2 IP • 34 pitches
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) March 21, 2021

Josh Bell heureux à Washington

Ça parait dans ses chiffres.

Josh Bell, said to be extremely happy with the Nats, is hitting up a storm in spring. 1.344 OPS.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 21, 2021

En parlant des Nationals, ils sont en train de tenter de prolonger les contrats de Juan Soto et de Trea Turner.

Nats are trying to extend both Trea Turner and Juan Soto again after making offers to both last spring as well. There seems to be a bit of optimism at least on Turner, who has two years to go before free agency. They love him, as they should.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 21, 2021

Bobby Witt Jr. dans les mineures

Ne me parlez pas de contrôler son temps de service : il n’a que 37 matchs dans le rookie ball derrière la cravate en 2019. Il prendra du galon et sera dans les Majeures plus tard.

The Royals have demoted Bobby Witt Jr., sources tell me and @alec_lewis. Will not open season in majors.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 21, 2021

Contrat de Francisco Lindor

Les Mets sont bel et bien prêts à donner plus de 300 millions de dollars à leur vedette.

Sources: Mets are willing to go to $300M to lock up superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor though it isn’t clear if they are there yet. They started below that number but are looking to compromise to get it done. They obviously are quite serious about keeping him in the fold.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 21, 2021

Alex Cora a affronté son frère

C’était la première fois qu’il le voyait en plus d’un an. Notons que Joey Cora est entraîneur au troisième coussin pour le compte des Pirates.

Boston Red Sox’s Alex Cora will see brother Joey for first time since Jan. 2020; ‘I thought about how people were going to treat him because of what I did’ https://t.co/Ip1t4pi07a
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) March 21, 2021