Sorry not sorry: Ohtani laughs off line drive

May 6th, 2021

How good is ? He's now apologizing to opponents for his skills.

In Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Rays -- in which Ohtani struck out seven in five-plus innings and did not allow a run -- the Angels' two-way star went from a scare, to a snare to ... "I'm sorry."

With one out in the top of the third inning at Angel Stadium, Rays slugger Austin Meadows drilled a first-pitch offering right back to Ohtani, a comebacker that registered at 93.8 mph off the bat. Ohtani got a glove on it before the ball popped out. And then, ever so coolly, Ohtani snatched it with his bare hand, much to the dismay of Meadows, who flipped his bat in frustration.

As Ohtani crossed paths with Meadows at the baseline, Ohtani gave him a Michael Jordan-esque shrug and smiled, saying "I'm sorry."

“I feel like there was a lot of luck involved," Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. "It was right after I made my motion and the ball kind of found my glove, but I was able to react a little bit and make that catch afterwards. And he put a really good swing on the ball, so I know as a hitter, if I got out with that swing, I’d be satisfied. So that’s what we kind of talked about."

Yes, folks. He can do it all. No apologies necessary, Shohei.