Shohei Ohtani’s pursuit of 62 home runs this season has been especially remarkable when you consider that he’s doing so with very little protection in the lineup. Mike Trout has been hurt, and Mickey Moniak is the only other Angels hitter batting above .300.
Teams generally haven’t pitched around Ohtani, but Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman was tired of seeing his team take that chance.
After Ohtani hit a home run in his first at-bat of Friday’s game in Toronto, broadcast cameras picked up footage of Chapman confronting manager John Schneider in the dugout. His message was basically: Why are we pitching to him? He’s the only one in that lineup who can hit.
if shohei doesn't hit 62 it might be matt chapman's doingpic.twitter.com/QiKNlF4MLP
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) July 30, 2023
Chapman was asked about that confrontation after the game, and he said that it came from a good place.
Matt Chapman explains his mindset in today's viral moment. 😅 pic.twitter.com/vHdf43mM5h
— theScore (@theScore) July 29, 2023
And since that scene in the dugout, the Blue Jays have generally heeded the message. In Saturday’s game, Ohtani was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat. After hitting a double in his second at-bat, Ohtani was intentionally walked in the next two plate appearances.
Sho Intent Walk✅
Shohei Ohtani is intentionally walked in the 5th inning by the Blue Jays as directed by Matt Chapman.🐔😉
Credit: Ballys#大谷翔平 #Ohtani #Angels #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/fPFPKFEcOr— Anaheim Sports (@AnaheimSports1) July 29, 2023
In Sunday’s game, they Blue Jays pitched to Ohtani in his first two at-bats. But after a single in the third inning, Ohtani was intentionally walked in his next plate appearance.
"That's an automatic walk right here, blame it on Matt Chapman"
The Blue Jays have walked Shohei three times since Chapman's outburst pic.twitter.com/YoH9hv4Whp
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 30, 2023
They walked him a fourth time in the ninth inning after a passed ball.
The Blue Jays walked Shohei again in the 9th inning in the middle of his at-bat after a passed ball put a runner on second base pic.twitter.com/Jyt5QQH6PL
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 30, 2023
Now, it makes sense for the Blue Jays to challenge another Angels hitter to beat them. But at the same time, it’s kind of lame to avoid pitching to Ohtani. He had only been intentionally walked eight times heading into the series. So, hopefully the Blue Jays didn’t start a trend of Ohtani getting the Barry Bonds treatment from pitchers.
Fans certainly blamed Chapman for all the intentional walks, though.
This was how Twitter reacted
Boys are you fired up yet ? https://t.co/62zx8cEpyq
— Mandy Mandi (@UnicornShohei) July 29, 2023
COWARD https://t.co/XM9HZFThN3
— Joe Barton (@josephbartacus) July 29, 2023
That's cowardly. He's a pitcher! https://t.co/9btbU3CMXC
— All Things UConn (@AllThingsUConn) July 29, 2023
Matt Chapman is a coward https://t.co/9VRvs9ap5y
— Owen (@TesoroOwen) July 30, 2023
matt chapman is a bad bad man! https://t.co/jdz6NYE5lp
— Jordan Cicchelli (@jordancicchelli) July 30, 2023
Matt Chapman knows just as well as all of us do now, give up a base not runs with this powerhouse hitter😂😂 https://t.co/aC48zOS5f4
— D. Ferrel💣 (@dferrel15) July 30, 2023
They ban intentional walks and bring back the shift for Matt Chapman. #LAAvsTOR
— Damon Sean Z (@DamonSeanZ1) July 30, 2023
Matt Chapman has managed this series extremely well for the Blue Jays. https://t.co/tozpKWSPNg
— Matt Zemek (@MattZemek) July 30, 2023
Matt Chapman really got into the Angels heads. “He is the only freaking guy that can hit” referring to Ohtani. The rest of the team took that personal and decided to prove him right
— Vale (@Alcantarvf) July 30, 2023
It seemed to work. The Blue Jays took the first two games of the series.
