Shohei Ohtani is the coolest player in Major League Baseball, which makes what happened to him on Wednesday all the more heartbreaking - he suffered a torn ligament in his right elbow and will not pitch again for the rest of the season.
Ohtani, who will likely need Tommy John surgery to fix the torn UCL ligament, left his start in Wednesday’s game against the Reds in the second inning after throwing 26 pitches. It was just his second start on the mound in two weeks, and now we don’t know when he’ll ever pitch again.
Angels GM Perry Minasian spoke about the injury following the second game of the team’s doubleheader with the Reds:
Perry Minasian provides injury updates on Trout and Ohtani@Angels | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/S0mQguxGnQ
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) August 24, 2023
That is all a total bummer.
The injury could also have a huge impact on free agency this winter, as Ohtani is set to hit the open market.
MLB fans had reactions:
this is so, so awful for baseball. SO awful. https://t.co/UklHWxvKyf
— EJNave (@twitchejnave) August 24, 2023
this is so brutal :( he was on such a historic run https://t.co/MySOmF7Sst
— claire de lune (@ClaireMPLS) August 24, 2023
Complete catastrophe for #Angels, with Mike Trout back on DL as well.
— Rob (@robg0927) August 24, 2023
Very, very bad night for all of baseball. https://t.co/vqn0WxIBPw
Yet more proof Thomas Hobbes was right.
— John Berman (@JohnBerman) August 24, 2023
Life is nasty, brutish, and short. https://t.co/cCw2PW2Ae5
This is the worst news https://t.co/f4AeFmjtwB
— Andrew Joseph (@AndyJ0seph) August 24, 2023
He’s still going to make stupid money but this will cost him 💰. If he needs Tommy John again, have to think the move to just hitting is coming. Man this sucks because what he did on the mound and at the plate was just ridiculous and the best thing baseball had going. https://t.co/7TUTh1EfJk
— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) August 24, 2023
Man what a gutting event. ESPECIALLY in his walk year. https://t.co/wTB8O4ghw2
— Max Fried Stash (82-44) (@MaxFriedstash) August 24, 2023
Can I interest you in becoming a single decision maker, I know a place who needs a guy
— silent j (@zombie_jacki) August 24, 2023
But honestly, this sucks and baseball on the whole is worse when Shohei Ohtani isn’t playing it https://t.co/QHsi1B68NH
This sucks. It sucks for Ohtani, for baseball, for fans. It’s hard to see him as anything more than a DH going forward. https://t.co/lVxBithXBV
— Steve Van Sky, The Sequel (@VanSky_fam) August 24, 2023
Please, for the love of everything, this man needs to heal and pitch well again. We need two-way players like this in MLB. I don't want it to be another 100 years before we see another star like this https://t.co/hCP1ND4JKW
— Matt Michaels (@MattAndAMic) August 24, 2023
