Ohtani will start on the mound and bat leadoff as the DH for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. The rules have been tweaked to allow him to display his two-way talents.
DENVER — Major League Baseball is delivering what the people want to see in the All-Star Game. And those “people” include the managers and players who will share the field with Shohei Ohtani during the All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Coors Field. After Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash announced that he picked the Angels’ two-way star as his starting pitcher, to go along with his duties as the designated hitter, he described it as if there wasn’t really any other choice. “This is what the fans want to see,” Cash said. “This is what I want to see. To have the opportunity to do something with a generational talent is special.” It was clear early in the All-Star voting process that Ohtani was going to be voted by the fans as the American League’s designated hitter. Less certain was whether he’d pitch. But once he was among the top five starting pitchers to be voted onto the All-Star roster by his fellow players, it made it more likely that he’d also pitch in the game. Cash, in consultation with the Angels and Major League Baseball, decided that they might as well start with the headline attraction by having Ohtani take the mound first. “Obviously it’s a huge honor,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “I wasn’t expecting to be chosen as a pitcher, but I was and Kevin and everyone else has very high expectations of me, so I just want to match those expectations.” Aside from being the best for television viewers, having Ohtani start works best for him. He can now prepare to pitch as he would normally, rather than coming out of the bullpen. “It made the most sense to do something that he’s already done, rather than ask him to hit and then come in and pitch later in the game,” Cash said.
