"Shohei Ohtani would hit and it would sound like a shotgun" - Kevin Kiermaier claims nobody hits the ball harder than Japanese phenom
Recently-retired outfielder Kevin Kiermaier had nothing but praise for teammate Shohei Ohtani. The 34-year-old, who's more closely affiliated with the Tampa Bay Rays, having spent 10 seasons with the squad, announced his retirement after winning the World Series title with Ohtani and the Dodgers.
On the Casa de Klub podcast hosted by two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber and former minor leaguer Tyler Casagrande, Kiermaier discussed what it was like being teammates with Ohtani. The veteran praised the Japanese star's work ethic while giving rave reviews about the raw power he possesses.
"When I first got to see him in LA and we could watch guys' routines and do all that, this dude is hitting the ball 115 [mph] off of front toss and I've never [seen anything like it]."
"The Rays or Blue Jays [will never have] you never looking at your exit velo or anything in the cage. We never had that set up and all this technology's taken off especially the last couple of years. But I know when a ball is hit hard and when a ball is hit loud as can be," he added.
Kiermaier also exclaimed that Ohtani's hits sound like a shotgun.
"[He would] hit and I mean it would sound like a shotgun in there and then me or other guys would go hit right after and we look up at the track and he' hitting 109 [and] 115 [mph] consistently."
"We look up get like a 96 [and] 97 [mph] because you know it's BP and it's in a cage a controlled environment and no one is coming anywhere near it but I've never seen anything like it," he added.
Shohei Ohtani's fearsome power
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani led several of the batting power stats in 2024. He led the league in barrels with 109, finished second in barrel rate with 21.6%, and had the second-highest hard hit rate at 59.3%.
When it comes to the highest average exit velocity, Ohtani finished second alongside Oneil Cruz at 95.5 miles per hour. He had the most homers hit with more than a 110+ exit velo with 29, and had the hardest hit home run of the season clocking in at a whopping 118.7 mph.