Oakland A's all-star Brent Rooker plans to ask Shohei Ohtani to sign his homerun picture: "I'm gonna approach him very humbly"
July has seen Shohei Ohtani make a remarkable impact, displaying his exceptional skills on the baseball field.
During a matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Ohtani extended his home run count, contributing to the Los Angeles Angels' 5-2 triumph, enabling them to salvage a win in the three-game series.
After the Oakland Athletics' narrow 8-7 defeat against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, the team's lone All-Star, Brent Rooker, had a conversation with reporters. During this interaction, he expressed his desire to meet Ohtani, the highly talented two-way phenom of the Los Angeles Angels.
Talkin' Baseball posted a snippet of Rooker talking about what he plans to do when he meets Shohei Ohtani in Seattle on July 11.
A's All-Star rep Brent Rooker homered off Shohei Ohtani earlier this season and he plans to "very humbly" ask Shohei to sign it in Seattle https://t.co/p5dwJJp7gK
"So there's a really cool picture of me hitting a homer off Shohei in Anaheim, and I'm going to approach him very humbly and try to get him to sign it because I think that is something I would love to have forever" - Rooker said in the video.
Rooker is recalling a specific home run that occurred on April 27 during a game between the A's and the Angels. At the time, the A's were trailing 5-0 in the fourth inning when Ohtani threw a pitch that was slightly higher than intended.
Seizing the opportunity, Rooker connected with the ball and managed to hit it just over the right-field wall, resulting in a three-run home run that reduced the deficit to a mere two runs.
Shohei Ohtani’s impressive performance this season
Los Angeles Angels' Ohtani, known for his versatility both as a pitcher and a batter, has achieved a league-leading 31st home run.
This remarkable start to the month appears to be a continuation of Ohtani's impressive performance in June, during which he set a franchise record by hitting 15 home runs.
If Ohtani maintains his current pace and participates in every game for the Angels moving forward, he is on track to reach an impressive total of 58 home runs.
Furthermore, at the age of 28, Ohtani also shares the top spot for the most runs batted in (RBIs) this season. Presently, he boasts a batting average of .306 along with an on-base percentage of .390 and a slugging percentage of .670.
Remarkably, Shohei Ohtani stands alone as the sole batter in the American League to have an OPS (on-base plus slugging) exceeding 1.000.