Skip Schumaker explains why Marlins didn’t walk Shohei Ohtani to prevent 50-50 history, invokes karma and baseball gods
Shohei Ohtani achieved baseball immortality after becoming the first person to reach 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season. The two-time MVP reached the feat during the Dodgers' 20-4 win over the Miami Marlins on Thursday.
Ohtani entered Thursday's series finale with two home runs and one SB shy of the 50-50 mark. While many expected the Marlins to pitch around the Japanese superstar after his first home run of the night, manager Skip Schumarker refused to walk Ohtani intentionally.
The reigning NL Manager of the Year explained his decision after the game:
"That's a bad move, baseball-wise, karma-wise, baseball-gods-wise. You go after him and see if you can get him out. I think out of respect for the game, we're going to after him. He hit the home run, that's just the deal. He's hit 50 of them."
Schumaker was not worried about getting on the wrong side of baseball history and as it panned out, Ohtani smashed three home runs on the night to etch his name in the history books.
Skip Schumaker hails Shohei Ohtani as the greatest ever
Although the Marlins manager wished he was in the stands for Shohei Ohtani's historic feat rather than the dugout, Skip Schumaker said the Japanese slugger is the most talented player he has ever seen.
"He's the most talented player I've ever seen. He is doing things I have never seen done before in the game and if he has a couple more of these peak years, he might be the best ever to play the game."
Despite the blowout loss, Schumaker was proud of his pitching staff for attacking Ohtani on Thursday.
He said:
"As a fan, yeah, I wish I was in the stands, not in the dugout seeing it, but I'm proud the guys that were attacking him and not scared of him. That's how you should go after it."
Ohtani's historic feat helped the Dodgers secure a postseason berth and the NL West leaders will be eyeing a 12th division title in 13 years before heading into the playoffs. They hold a healthy four-game lead over division rivals the San Diego Padres.