It seems like Shohei Ohtani does something historic on a daily basis, but on Thursday, he came up just short at being alone in the history books.
And trust me: He was close. Ohtani even had Angels play-by-play broadcaster Wayne Randazzo fooled in the process.
Ohtani — the starter on the mound for the Angels’ game against the Athletics — went into his eighth-inning at-bat needing just a home run for the cycle. A homer would have made Ohtani the first starting pitcher in MLB history to hit for the cycle. And initially, it did seem like Ohtani was having another Cooperstown moment when he turned on a first-pitch slider from Richard Lovelady.
But man, listen to that call from Randazzo. He got a bit ahead of himself there.
"BASEBALL HISTORY COMING FOR SHOHEI!"
"…but it's caught at the wall" pic.twitter.com/2m9E0lUaIm
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 27, 2023
“Baseball history coming for Shohei! But it’s caught at the wall,” Randazzo announced. Just a brutally hilarious transition.
To be fair to Randazzo, everyone (even Ohtani) thought it was going to be a home run. And had it actually been a home run, that would have been a fantastic call. But it wasn’t it a home run — Ohtani flew out. Baseball can be cruel like that. He was a great sport about it, though.
If you can't get swelled up in the excitement of potential baseball history, then why even bother showing up? Sooooo close. Shohei is incredible. https://t.co/1kLGN0PRGq
— Wayne Randazzo (@WayneRandazzo) April 27, 2023
MLB fans also had jokes about the call.
This was how Twitter reacted
I almost stood up out my chair dawg lmaoooo announcer set me up bad https://t.co/VocRuGNH86
— S E V E N (@tys__world) April 27, 2023
Played with my feelings there a little https://t.co/b0xVQOMbca
— 🦄17 | waiting for rafael nadal (@ohshoheis) April 27, 2023
“Going, Going, Not quite gone!” https://t.co/whN0lcvSfr
— Rangers Rants (@JasonGr11490842) April 27, 2023
Wayne Randazzo needs to be put in prison for the emotions he made me feel on that call. Almost had 1k https://t.co/nf6A5reFxw pic.twitter.com/iiDpTqBPHI
— Jerry (@Paranormal_Bass) April 27, 2023
No Wayne Randazzo slander allowed https://t.co/uP9NzvySwu
— Conor Horn (@horn_conor) April 27, 2023
The call is amazing https://t.co/DfWqR5958p
— Ben Whitehead (@thebenwhitehead) April 27, 2023
This is the epitome of a jinx https://t.co/W7k7alQAKA
— Blake ☕️ (@blakehparker) April 27, 2023
Rare Wayne Randazzo L https://t.co/5UXhakV1fJ
— Rogue Two (@Gil_diaz_) April 27, 2023
The whiplash of excitement to disappointment I experienced watching this on stream was probably the closest I'll ever get to knowing what it's like to be an Angels fan https://t.co/SrmboE8s5d
— Chal (parody) 🆒🦆 (@Chalamander13) April 27, 2023
But hey, the Angels won, 8-7. So there was no “Tungsten Arm O’Doyle” moment this time.
