Tag: #jefffletcher

Book Description

Shohei Ohtani of the Los
Angeles Angels is playing baseball like no other since the legendary Babe Ruth.
Ohtani’s dominance as a two-way player, one that pitches and bats effectively,
has taken the Major League by storm. Since entering the league, he won the 2018
AL Rookie of the Year, competed in the 2021 Home Run Derby, started in the 2021
All Star Game as both a pitcher and hitter (the first player to ever do so),
won the 2021 Most Valuable Player award, and was named to Time 100’s
list of most influential people of 2021. The question on everyone’s mind is how
is this Japanese phenom doing this? And how far can he go?

As the next generation of
baseball superstars cement themselves, Ohtani, who can pitch a 100mph fastball
and was a Top 3 home run leader at the end of the season, stands out amongst
them all. Major League Baseball has found the new face of the sport.

In Sho-time, Jeff
Fletcher will examine the player’s path from his early days in Japan, his
transition to the MLB, and a start-to-finish inside look at his historic 2021
MVP season. Along the way, Fletcher will detail other players who have crossed
over from Japan to the major leagues, how Ohtani brought his phenomenal talent
to the game at a time when technology is exploding as a means toward maximizing
performance, and the role that Ohtani and his otherworldly teammate Mike Trout
are playing in helping to lead baseball into the next generation.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Sho-Time by Jeff Fletcher tells the inside story of the Los Angeles Angel’s Shohei Ohtani, a “two-way” baseball player.  From the time he started playing baseball for the Angels he has become a celebrity.  Shohei is a unique player, a unicorn to use baseball language, because he can pitch and hit, in the same game.  Ohtani just made history as the only player to be named to the ALL-STAR team as both a pitcher and hitter two years in a row.

Jeff Fletcher uses his own experiences to explain the Shohei phenomenon. As the writer for the Orange County Register for the last eight seasons, he uses his vast knowledge of baseball and the Angels to delve into the challenges, triumphs, and journey of this baseball superstar.

The book covers Ohtani’s path through Japanese baseball including a championship with the Nippon-Ham Fighters, to his desire to play American Major League baseball.  Readers get details about the recruiting war by Major League clubs, why he picked the Angels, Ohtanis’s 2018 Rookie of the Year campaign, the injury-riddled seasons, and his MVP year in 2021 with 157 strikeouts, an ERA of 3.18 ERA, 46 home runs and 10 triples. Most people believe that Ohtani is a dominant pitcher and a powerful designated hitter, a once in a lifetime player.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper:  Why is he considered a one-of-a-kind player?

Jeff Fletcher: There has not been anybody succeeding in such a significant degree as both a hitter and pitcher since Babe Ruth, who did it more than 100 years ago. Ruth was a pitcher who realized he was a good hitter and decided not to pitch anymore. He did not intend to be a two-way player the way Shohei has. He does not match up with anyone.

EC:  In the book there is this quote by Babe Ruth, “I don’t think a man can pitch in his regular turn and play every other game at some other position, to keep that pace year after year.” Do you think Ohtani will be able to do it?

JF:  I do not know the answer to that.  Since no one has ever done it, there is no precedent for it. He obviously has had some injury problems.  Hopefully he can be productive and healthy as he had this last year and a half. Everyone should enjoy it while it lasts. What Ohtani did was harder than what Babe Ruth did. The level of competition today in the Majors is so much higher, especially with the analytics and the defensive positioning. Yet, today no one could do what Babe Ruth did, playing outfield for four days and then pitching.  It has certainly helped Ohtani to be a designated hitter when he is not pitching.

EC:  How would you describe Ohtani as a player and a personality?

JF: As a personality he has a good sense of humor that can be seen through his interaction with his teammates, happy, and enjoys playing baseball. As a player he has so much talent, being able to pitch and hit at such a high level, which is incredibly difficult.

EC:  Is he a better pitcher or hitter?

JF:  I think he is a little better pitcher because he is more consistent. If someone ranked all the pitchers and hitters in baseball, he probably is higher on the pitcher list. Shohei has had stretches as a hitter where he has struggled a month at a time.  But he has never really had that as a pitcher, except for injuries.

EC:  He will be a free agent in 2024, do you think he will sign a new contract with the Angels?

JF:  It is hard to know the answer since there is no precedent how a player like this will be paid. The problem is no one can predict what his performance level will be like. Although this is true for all players, there is nothing to compare it to for him. Eventually his contract will need to have clauses and triggers, such as he gets paid x amount if he is a pitcher and a hitter or will be paid y amount if he only does one skill. I do think he will sign a contract with the Angels.  They know what they have in him, a great player and someone very good for business.  The only reason he would not sign is if he does not think the Angels can win. 

EC:  Why do you think he signed with the Angels?

JF:  He did not decide to go with a team that had another Japanese player. This was and is not his primary goal.  His goal is what feels comfortable to him. He did not choose the Angels because they had this great winning tradition, because they don’t. It was basically the people who talked to him convinced him it is a comfortable environment to be in and this is still the case.

EC:  In your book you discuss Ohtani being managed by Mike Scioscia versus Joe Madden.  Who was the better manager for him?

JF:  Hindsight is 20-20 so obviously Joe Madden. He got the better performance out of Ohtani.  Mike Scioscia treated Ohtani the way he pitched in Japan.  He did not hit the day before or the day after he pitched and very rarely hit the same day he pitched. Also, they were under the impression Ohtani would not speak up if he were tired or needed a break.  All that was true at the time.  Now he says when he needs a break and when he does not, knowing himself a little better.

EC:  Why was he better in 2021?

JF:  He did a lot of training at Driveline in the winter before the 2021 season. This helped give him real hard data on what his energy levels were like. In that way, he would know when he needed a break.

EC:  Did he ever comment that he has an advantage being a hitter and a pitcher.  When he is hitting does he think like a pitcher and vice-versa?

JF: He has said he feels it is an advantage for him that he is a hitter and a pitcher. He sees the way pitchers approach him and the way hitters do it. He files all that a way. He has a nice perspective that other hitters and pitchers don’t have considering he is a two-way player.

EC:  Relationship with Mike Trout?

JF:  They are like other teammates.  There is a scene in the book how Mike Trout called him during home run derby and said just relax.  Mike Trout understood what the spotlight is like.

EC:  Will he be a role model for other children who come up through the system and will there be more two-way players?

JF:  I don’t think so.  What he does is so difficult.  A player would have to have a lot of physical talent. 

EC:  In your book you quoted him saying that Home Run Derby was fun, but tiring.  Will he play this year?

JF:  I don’t think it had any impact on his performance for the second half of the season.  It makes no sense. Home Run Derby was on July 13^th, and he started his slump on August 20^th. This year, I am sure he can use the break so I do not think he will participate. Either will Mike Trout. He has never had an interest in doing it because he also wants to relax.

EC:  Do you think Ohtani and Trout are striking out too much?

JF:  Ohtani is striking out less than last year, while Trout is striking out more. First off everyone is striking out more than people would like to see.  Strikeout numbers for the last 15 years have gone up exponentially.  I think there are more strikeouts than hits, which is disturbing.

EC:  Where can people get the book if they want to?

JF:  Bookstores and on Amazon. It is available on Kindle and on Audio. It has been translated into Japanese.  I am doing a book signing in a little bookstore in Tustin, the “RV Company” on July 17^th. People can go to my website, https://jefffletcherwrites.com/ to get the latest information.

EC:  Will this book appeal to all baseball fans?

JF:  Yes. People who are not Angel fans might enjoy the book more since Angel fans might know a lot of stuff. Anyone who wants to learn about Ohtani might want to read this book since he has done something that no one has done in a hundred years.

THANK YOU!!

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