OAKLAND, California -- After Shohei Ohtani became the first player to qualify as both a hitter and a pitcher for the league leaders, he spoke of wanting to help his team make some history of its own.
The two-way superstar said his season was generally good, but he lamented that it was against his will that his Los Angeles Angels missed the postseason for the eighth season in a row.
He said that he wish this was the beginning of the real thing and that we got onto the real stage the playoffs. I will do my best to make that happen next year.
Ohtani started the Angels' final game against the Oakland Athletics on October 5 in Oakland, California, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning before giving up a run and being taken out.
After pitching the first inning against the A's, Ohtani reached the 162 inning minimum required for pitching leaders.
It was the first time that Ohtani had hurled 162 innings in a season in his MLB career. He had already reached the 502 plate appearances this season to qualify for batting honors.
Asked about throwing more than 162 innings, Ohtani said after the game, Normally I don't attach too much to it. He said he knew he could qualify as a hitter and a pitcher as long as he stayed in the games.
Asked by a reporter what impressed him most this season, Ohtani said I forgot most of the stuff. He said that if I can be of help to the team, it depends on whether I can achieve a good result as this year or better than last year. That is all I can do. I can't do anything about recruiting. I don't know about that, but I look forward to the off-season developments. Asked about his growth as a pitcher this season, Ohtani said that his pitching remained stable because he stayed healthy throughout the season.
He said that I can perform much, much better if I continue like that next season and grow more and more.
Ohtani was asked about his goal next season and said that he would win.