Hernández: Return of the MVP season? New rules might turn Shohei Ohtani into a .300 hitter

Nothing’s changed. The Angels are still the Angels.

They opened their season on Thursday night by doing what they’re known to do, throwing away another Herculean effort by Shohei Ohtani, who reached base twice as a hitter and registered 10 strikeouts over six scoreless innings as a pitcher in a 2-1 defeat to the Oakland Athletics.

If the crushing eighth-inning meltdown and resulting loss was a sobering reality check for an Angels team that was hoping this season would somehow be different than any of their previous eight, an unremarkable fourth-inning at-bat signaled the emergence of new possibilities for baseball’s star attraction.

Ohtani could once again homer 40-plus times, like he did in his MVP season in 2021. He could once again strike out more than 200 batters, like he did last year.

Now, he could also bat .300.

Ohtani’s first hit of the season was unimportant in the context of the game, the grounder that skipped by a diving Tony Kemp failing to lead to any runs. In the broader context, the single could have represented a game changer for Ohtani and the Angels.

“Probably an out last year, without a doubt,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said.

Under a new rule implemented by Major League Baseball, teams must have two infielders on each side of second base when a pitch is released. The ban on shifts could have a profound effect on left-handed hitters such as Ohtani.

Last year, when Ohtani batted .273, opposing defenses shifted against him in 88.3% of his plate appearances, according to the league’s Statcast system. That percentage will be zero this season, which figures to result in a significant improvement in his batting average.

“Until now, I feel like there was too much of a disadvantage for left-handed hitters,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “I think this makes it fair.”

Ohtani won’t just be a power hitter this year. He’ll be a power hitter who also bats for average.

His single on opening night at the Oakland Coliseum was a prime example of the kinds of opportunities that will be created for him.

Ohtani attacked the second pitch of the at-bat, redirecting the high fastball to the right of Kemp, the Athletics’ second baseman. Kemp couldn’t reach the ball, which bounced into right field. Mike Trout, who started the inning with a walk, advanced to second base.

Anthony Rendon, Hunter Renfroe and Luis Rengifo failed to drive in either Trout or Ohtani but ignore for a moment how they were shut down by a pitcher who entered a game with a career earned-run average of 8.03 in Kyle Muller.

Instead, consider that Ohtani’s batted ball would have resulted in an out under last year’s rules, maybe even a double play.

Consider how many more hits Ohtani should have this year. Just this week, in the Freeway Series against the Dodgers, he singled twice through that side of the infield.

Consider how well Ohtani runs and the damage he could do on the basepaths.

Any question why the Athletics chose to intentionally walk Ohtani with two outs and Taylor Ward on second base in a one-run game?

Any question who should be viewed as the favorite to be crowned the American League’s most valuable player, Aaron Judge’s opening-day homer notwithstanding?

The 28-year-old Ohtani is a career .267 hitter in the major leagues, but he could realistically bat .300.

He should be able to bat .300.

Ohtani agreed.

“I struck out twice today,” Ohtani said. “I think I could have taken different approaches. But if I can clear those problems, I think I can very much aim for that.”

In the last couple of years, Ohtani has talked about shifting his focus from team goals to individual goals because of the Angels’ inability to remain competitive.

While general manager Perry Minasian fortified the lineup over the winter — “We’re going to score a lot of runs,” Nevin said — the continued absence of hard-throwing relievers looks to once again be a problem.

The opening-night troubles of Aaron Loup and Ryan Tepera figure to be a preview of what’s to come over the next six months.

By the middle of the season, Ohtani could very well be relegated to pursuing just individual benchmarks again.

He figured to already be a contender for home run and ERA crowns. He could now be in position to win a batting title as well.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.