Shohei Ohtani played against the Toronto Blue Jays last night. After the game, he said something himself: “The state is not good, there is a problem with the ball.” Then you look at the results – 6 innings, 4 hits, zero ERA, and a high-quality start. Wait, what’s wrong? This video will take you inside to see the data inside of this game. You will see a very counter-intuitive thing: Shohei Ohtani was really bad at handling the ball today, and it was clearly written in black and white – but he still lasted through six games. How did he do it? 🔢 How bad is the ball control? Let’s spread out the numbers first. With 96 balls, the strike rate is only 47%, and the strike rate is 63% (the normal level is 65-68%). Calculated, more than 50 goals in the entire game are bad goals. The number of strikeouts was only 2 – Ohtani is a pitcher who can strike out 10 in a game under normal circumstances. This is not modesty, this is fact. ⚡ Then why can you still pitch 6 innings? The answer is only two words: ball quality Ohtani’s seven pitches tonight, all pitch speeds are higher than the season average: the four-seam is 1.5 miles faster, the sweeper is 1.1 miles faster, the sinker is 0.7 miles faster, and even the least-used slider has an average speed of 88.4 miles tonight, 2.7 miles faster than the season average. The combination of poor ball control and faster-than-usual ball speed means that even if he throws the ball in an imperfect spot, the ball itself is still difficult to hit. The hitter relies on rhythm. The ball is 1.5 miles faster than expected, and the timing of the swing is wrong. Even if the landing point is not in the corner, it may only be a weak hit. This is the core counterintuitive thing today: It’s not that he finished 6 innings because he controlled the ball well, but that his ball quality was good enough, so his poor ball control was not completely punished. 🌀 Sweeper: What you saw in the first five games was fake. I pulled out all the data of 22 Sweepers last night and compared them ball by ball. It turned out that the 22 balls were not the same ball at all. The Sweeper in the first five rounds has a horizontal movement of 9 to 15 inches and a rotation speed of 2525 to 2700 rpm – normal, normal, effective. Sweeper in the sixth game? The horizontal lateral movement directly reaches 17 to 20 inches, and the rotational speed increases to 2789 to 2864 rpm. One of them is the most exaggerated, with a lateral movement of 20.6 inches, which is the largest among all Sweepers last night. Why wait until the sixth inning? Because it was the third round of the showdown. The hitter has seen the first two rounds, and he has the information, the feel, and the rhythm – many starting pitchers get blown out in the sixth inning. Ohtani’s solution is: save the strongest version of the ball until you think you understand it. What you saw in the first five games was the version he told you to watch, and the one in the sixth game was the real one. 🪤 Fingerballs: The lower the rotational speed, the darker the ball. There are 11 fingerballs with an air vibration rate of 40% – the average air vibration rate of MLB fingerballs is only 18 to 22%, and Otani is almost twice the average. The reason lies in the speed span: from 1169 to 1580 rpm, which spans nearly 400 rpm. This is not a ball, this is several versions. The ones with a rotation speed of 1580 rpm move like a speed ball, with lateral displacement; the ones with a rotation speed of 1169 and 1205 rpm have almost no rotation, and the vertical displacement of the IVB drops to -2.2 inches at the lowest, which means they fall purely by gravity. The batter watched a fast ball drop 20 centimeters at the last moment. Even if he guessed that he was going to throw a fork, his hand still couldn’t keep up. 🧱 The Blue Jays hitters are patient, but there is nothing they can do about it. The Blue Jays’ chase rate tonight is only 33%, which shows that they know that Ohtani has problems controlling the ball today, so they are deliberately waiting. But even when the ball comes in, only a few of the 21 balls that come into contact pose a serious threat – most of them are weak ground balls or fly balls. The reason is simple: Wait until that ball hits you, and it’s still 98 miles, 20 inches of lateral travel, and next to a fork ball with a 40 percent air rate threatening you. Your swing quality will still be compressed. 💪 The only person who can really solve Ohtani: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. In the first inning, he hit a single with a muzzle velocity of 111.2 miles, the strongest hit of the game. Another 108.7-mile double in the sixth inning. He doesn’t have to guess the ball, he just needs to blow the ball he touches. Ohtani’s ball design is very effective against ordinary hitters, but this kind of power hitter is a problem in another dimension-the Dodgers will face the Blue Jays again later, and this matchup will definitely be the core issue. 🎗️ Outside the game: Rojas’ story has another episode today that moved the audience. Blue Jays outfielder Rojas did not play yesterday due to the tragic death of his father. Today he returned to the court, and Shohei Ohtani showed off his armband on the court in memory of Rojas’ father – the audience was very moved. In addition, when Ohtani was warming up, a Blue Jays player even complained to the referee that Ohtani took too long to warm up. This move made Dodger head coach Dave Roberts very angry. For Soybeans, the position on this matter is simple: all things fair. If the Blue Jays also have a two-way superstar who can both start and bat, it is completely reasonable to enjoy the same treatment. 📊 This video uses data sources Statcast (Baseball Savant)/Pitch Profiler/FanGraphs 🔔 If you like this kind of data-oriented baseball analysis, remember to subscribe to Soybean Talking Ball! We will clearly explain the Statcast and advanced data for each video, so that you can not only watch the excitement, but also understand the skills. Leave a message and tell me: Which ball do you think was the most impressive ball from Ohtani last night? #大谷香平#ShoheioOhtani #Dodgers # Dodger #MLB #Soy said ball #Statcast #baseball analysis #fingerball #Sweeper #VladimirGuerrerojr #bluejays #BlueJays #二刀流#MLB2026
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