The ‘Shohei Ohtani did WHAT?!’ tracker

There is a joke around social media that “Twitter is not real life.”

However, there are moments that cross the bridge from memes, to reality.

One such moment comes to us courtesy of Shohei Ohtani. The incredible two-way player is doing things in major league baseball that we have not seen in years, if not decades. Or even ever.

The fact that he is doing them alongside Mike Trout — one of the best position players in the game — and on a team that is struggling to win games spawned one of the greatest baseball tweets in recent memory:

So we thought it would be worth it this season to keep a running tally of every incredible night, game, or effort we see from the Angels star this season. And it did not take long for us to have to put this post together, thanks to what he did on Opening Day.

Ohtani was on the bump for the Angels in their season-opener against the Oakland A’s, and hit third in the lineup. He was 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk and a pair of strikeouts.

On the mound, Ohtani went six full innings, allowing just two hits, three walks, and no earned runs. He also struck out ten batters, and left the game after his six innings of work with the Angels holding a one-run lead.

Oakland scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth en route to a 2-1 win.

And we’re off!

Ohtani was back on the bump for his second start of the season, on the road against the Seattle Mariners. He went six full innings with eight strikeouts, and allowed one earned run. Ohtani was 1-for-2 at the plate with an RBI and a pair of walks.

He left the game with the Angels leading 4-1, and Los Angeles managed to hold on for a 4-3 win, and Ohtani earned his first win of the season.

He also made some history:

In the bottom of the first with Cal Raleigh at the plate, Ohtani was called for a pitch clock violation at the start of the at-bat. But he managed to battle back for the strikeout.

Then in the sixth inning, Ohtani was at the plate and was hit with a pitch clock violation. He still managed to work a walk in the plate appearance.

It might not be the kind of history we expect to see from Ohtani on a given night, but still history.

This installment has a bonus Mike Trout appearance.

The Angels hosted the Blue Jays in their home opener on Friday night, and the home team got out to an early lead in the bottom of the first. Leadoff hitter Taylor Ward walked, bringing Trout to the plate with a runner on, and nobody out.

Trout then launched a rocket to left that might not have landed yet:

Trout finished the night with just the one hit, but it was a big blast.

As for Ohtani, he went 2-for-4 on the night, with a single and a double.

Their combined three hits were the only hits for Los Angeles on Friday night, and the Angels lost 4-3.

Well, look on the bright side Angels fans, the 1962 New York Yankees did go on to win the World Series.

This doesn’t directly involve Shohei Ohtani, but man it comes real close. The Rocket City Trash Pandas (A+ name by the way), a AA affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, lost to the Chattanooga Lookouts...without giving up a hit.

Yes, the Trash Pandas threw a combined no hitter and lost the game 7-5.

The final inning was truly a work of art. Up 3-0 in the inning, the Trash Pandas gave up five walks, one error and one HBP to allow the Lookouts to score 7 runs, something you don’t even see in little league.

And if you have the stomach for it, you can watch how this unfolded:

The Shoheiness of the Angels is even reaching down to their affiliates, just without the stellar play of Ohtani and more of the Angels goofing off.

In a 4-3 win over the Royals, Ohtani singled to first in the bottom of the eighth.

You read that right:

He also hit his fifth homer of the year, when Ward, Trout and Ohtani went back-to-back-to-back.

So we — I — admit that we let this slip. Partly because the Angels were doing pretty well this season, and partly because we got sidetracked by all the incredible things Ohtani has been doing this year.

However, this is simply too good to pass up.

Sounds good, right?

But wait! There’s more!

Sigh.

In a history-making season, Ohtani put his name in the record books yet again on Monday night against the San Francisco Giants.

Ohtani stole second base in the second inning, giving him 15 steals on the season. The significance of that stolen base?

Ohtani finished the night 2-for-4 with a double. The Angels lost 8-3 when they gave up six runs in the top of the ninth inning. It was their seventh-straight loss, and they have not won since the MLB trade deadline.