Ohtani's 2016: a leadoff home run as the starting pitcher, a one-hitter to clinch, and 165 km/h in relief

If the earlier seasons were an argument, 2016 was the proof. Shohei Ohtani went 10-4 with a 1.86 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 140 innings over 21 games. As a hitter he played 104 games and batted .322 with 104 hits, 22 home runs and 67 RBIs, according to season lines compiled by Baseball Channel. The Fighters won the Pacific League.

Baseball Channel's year-end list picked out the moments. On July 3 against SoftBank, batting first and pitching, he homered to lead off the game. On Sept. 28 against Seibu, he threw a one-hit shutout to clinch the pennant, allowing only a fifth-inning hit to Tomoya Mori. In the Climax Series final stage against SoftBank, he started the first game and threw seven one-hit, scoreless innings. Then on Oct. 16 in Sapporo, with a 7-4 lead in the ninth of the game that sent Nippon-Ham to the Japan Series, he moved from designated hitter to the mound. J-CAST described the scoreboard showing 165 km/h, about 102.5 mph, and the crowd's roar. Number Web noted it was his first career save.

The awards followed. On Nov. 28, he was named Pacific League MVP. Baseball Channel reported that 253 voters put him first and that he scored 1,268 points to 298 for teammate Brandon Laird. He was also selected to the Best Nine as both a pitcher and a designated hitter. Not everyone agreed with that part. Baseball Channel's editors pointed out that the voting rules had been revised on Sept. 20, and questioned the pitcher selection because he did not reach the qualifying number of innings, partly because a burst blister on his right hand kept him out.

That criticism did not change the overall verdict, but it is part of how the Japanese press recorded the season. The Japan Series came next, and with it a columnist's argument that Hiroshima should simply concede Ohtani's starts.