Chicago White Sox: 1 LA Angels player coming to town is so exciting

Most of the time, you aren’t fond of your opponent while they are in town. For the Chicago White Sox, however, it is a pleasure to welcome Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels. This is a big series for a few different reasons. The first reason is that the White Sox are trying to clinch a playoff berth. Their magic number is nine. The second reason is that we get to watch Shohei Ohtani play in our stadium.

The Angels come into this series with a record of 70-73. They aren’t a terrible team but they are in fourth place of the very good AL West by 14.0 games. They trail a Wild Card spot by 9.5 games so they are not going to go to the playoffs once again. However, their record doesn’t matter in a year like this.

Going into the season, Mike Trout was trying to make it another year where he is clearly the best player in the league. He still might be but he has been out for a very long time with an injury. His teammate, Shohei Ohtani, may have passed him for that title. He has already had the greatest single seasons in the history of the sport.

Ohtani came into the league in 2018 as a pitcher that also hits or better known as a two-way player. He was the first person to do so at a high level since Babe Ruth. He performed well at both and won Rookie of the Year. Then some injuries caught up to him so 2021 became a big year for him. Now, with a few weeks left in the season, he is being talked about amongst the all-time greats.

Shohei Ohtani and the LA Angels are set to play the Chicago White Sox this week.

As a hitter, he is slashing .259/.361/.611 for an OPS of .972. Those are just crazy statistics on their own. It is also crazy because he has 44 home runs, 94 RBIs, and 91 runs scored. All of those numbers are MVP worthy for a Major League Baseball player.

However, it doesn’t end there. As mentioned before, he also pitches. He isn’t just some mediocre starter either. He is a superstar Cy Young level pitcher. He leads the Angels with 9 wins (9-2 record) and 136 strikeouts. He has an ERA of 3.36 and a 1.12 WHIP over 21 game starts and 115.1 innings. It is honestly the most sensational season in the history of baseball when you combine the pitching and the hitting.

He might win the MVP award unanimously for the American League. That race was over in July. He started the All-Star Game and led off for the American League. He also competed in the Home Run Derby as the number one seed. It has been magnificent to watch. When you think of everything that he has done, it is truly hard to believe.

This guy gets to compete in Chicago this week which is really cool. If there was ever an MLB player worth the price of admission by himself, it is Shohei Ohtani. You don’t get much more spectacular than him so this should be a real treat. We are hoping the White Sox can contain him enough to win but it is encouraged to enjoy the show. If there was ever a time to spend your money on tickets, it is now.