April 27, 2024

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The Angels hits the longest home run by Shohei Ohtani in the 2023 MLB season

The Angels hits the longest home run by Shohei Ohtani in the 2023 MLB season

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Shuhei Ohtani can’t be stopped.

The Los Angeles Angels star launched a giant 493-foot career Friday night in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The blast, his 30th homer of the year and 15th in the month of June alone, is the longest home run in MLB this season and the longest of his career. Per Sarah Langs MLBIt’s the longest home run hit by an Angels player in the statcast era (since 2015). According to MLB’s Brent Maguireit is the longest home run anyone has ever hit in Angel Stadium during that span.

“It was loud. I’ll leave it at that. I didn’t watch it. I don’t really like watching home runs,” said Tommy Henry, a Diamondbacks archer.

Ohtani is the fourth MLB player to hit 15 home runs in the month of June. Included on that short list are Babe Ruth (1930) and Roger Maris in 1961, the year he broke Ruth’s single-season record.

Ohtani’s 15 home runs in June also sets the Angels’ home run record in a single month and brings it to another club exclusive: He’s only the ninth player ever to hit 30 home runs before the calendar turns to July. The Orioles’ Chris Davis was the last man to do so in 2013; Others to achieve the feat are Babe Ruth (twice), Ken Griffey Jr. (twice), Sammy Sosa (twice), Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, Luis Gonzalez and Albert Pujols.

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“I’ve heard about all these 500 (foot) shots guys had in the past. I know the accounts back and forth are a little different, but I don’t think there’s going to be a ball that hits more than that,” said Angels coach Phil Nevin.

Unfortunately for Otani, he didn’t get much help from the rest of his teammates. A single homer cut the lead to 5-1 and the Angels lost 6-2. As a team, the Angels only managed four hits, with MVP Mike Trout three times (twice) and Otani — who seems well on his way to adding a second MVP award — accounting for three of them. Ohtani finished the night 1-for-2 with two walks and caught both of the Angels’ tackles.

Contributing: Associated Press