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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Blake Schuster

Shohei Ohtani caught performing CPR on his bat to escape an early season slump

It hasn’t been the most electric start to the season for baseball’s most exciting player.

A year after Shohei Ohtani proved the sport’s biggest stage is no match for his talent, the two-way star finds himself mired in a wee bit of a slump to begin his 2022 campaign.

Through five games and 21 at-bats, Ohtani has just three hits on five strikeouts with no walks. Considering he hits at the top of the Angels lineup, a .143/.143/.190 slash line isn’t what anyone wants to see at all. Especially not for an MVP favorite (+300 at Tipico). Ohtani knows this, too.

But not to worry, because the modern day Babe Ruth has a fix for his quiet bat.

That should do it! Or maybe Jobu just needs some more rum.

Either way, Ohtani’s playful attitude here is exactly the right course. It’s the first week of the season and every one needs to take some deep breathes. He’ll be launching balls into orbit soon enough.

It’s not like he’s slumping on the mound, either. In his first start of the year, Ohtani went 4.2 innings pitched with nine strikeouts, one walk issued, one hit allowed and one earned run.

His bat will come around. Or surely the Angels have a defibrillator around the dugout Ohtani can use to wake it up.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

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