In the 2023 major league, there are quite a few rules to be followed in the game. A typical example is the defensive shift that has recently gained sensational popularity.
Previously, there were no big restrictions on how to position a defender as long as he didn’t go behind the catcher, but now he’s back to a little more classic baseball. There must be two players on either side of second base. Infielders are not allowed to go outfield. Theoretically, left-handed hitters who struggled with the shift could benefit. Shohei Ohtani (29‧LA Angels) is like that.
Ohtani is not basically the type of player who pulls every time, but as his batting performance improves, the shift ratio continues to increase. The fact that the shift attempt rate, which was 34.2% in 2019, increased rapidly to 75.2% in 2021 proves this. But Ohtani is not just a player. Not only as a hitter, but also as a pitcher, there are more things to consider about the gains and losses of the system change. That’s pitch spacing.
Ohtani is a representative player with long intervals between pitches and pitches. There are few players in the major leagues later than Ohtani. Most pitchers tend to take long intervals between pitches when runners are present, but Ohtani was the second slowest in the major leagues even when no runners were present. Depending on the site for aggregation, the standards are slightly different, and the numbers are different, but in most of the aggregation, Ohtani is behind.
According to statistics website ‘Fangraph’, Ohtani’s pitching interval was 26.6 seconds, the longest in the major leagues. Even when no runners were around, he often exceeded 20 seconds. However, from this year, as part of the ‘speed-up’, you must throw within 15 seconds when there is no runner and within 20 seconds when there is a runner. Otherwise, one ball is penalized. 토토사이트
Ohtani also expressed concern when this new rule was announced, saying, “It doesn’t match the (throwing) time so far. Since there is a pitch clock, we have to make a form while remembering the pitching interval.” A pitcher’s rhythm and form are built over a lifetime, so it’s not easy to shorten it. Breathing is also different, and the more you pay attention, the more rapid the pitching will be, possibly ruining your form or balance. This is not an easy task for Ohtani.
Asian players generally have long intervals between pitches. Darvish Yu (37, San Diego) was faster than Otini, but was still the 6th slowest starting pitcher in the league last year at 25.3 seconds. Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto)’s pitching interval was also on the slow axis at 24.1 seconds in 2021. Kenta Maeda (35‧ Minnesota) is also slower than average. Masahiro Tanaka and Hisashi Iwakuma, who are not in the major leagues now, were also pitchers with long intervals between pitches.
In the case of Kim Gwang-hyeon (St. Louis at the time), he was exceptionally fast pitching tempo as an Asian pitcher. He averaged 20.7 seconds in 2020, which stands out from other Asian pitchers. Anyway, as long as the rules are established, the players must follow them. It is expected that each of them will prepare to make the most of their know-how.