I heard it's going to get better soon? Soto 4G has no hits in a row, and Ohtani, who is like a disheveled first season with a batting average of 140th, is aiming for MVP again

May 29, 2025

I heard it's going to get better soon? Soto 4G has no hits in a row, and Ohtani, who is like a disheveled first season with a batting average of 140th, is aiming for MVP again
New York Mets Juan Soto is 140th out of 168 batters who have met the standard batting average in this category with a batting average of 0.224 as of the 29th (Korea Standard Time). AP Yonhap News



I heard it's going to get better soon? Soto 4G has no hits in a row, and Ohtani, who is like a disheveled first season with a batting average of 140th, is aiming for MVP again
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani gestures to third baseman Kike Hernandez to come home at the top of the seventh inning at the Cleveland Guardians on the 29th (Korea time). ImagesYonhap News
Let's compare this season between two players who signed contracts worth $700 million side by side.

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers continues to play like the defending MVP. He is ranked first in the entire major leagues in home runs and scoring, and his concentration with the stamina is not shaking even though he is in the final stage of pitching rehabilitation.

Ohtani played as the first designated hitter against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on the 29th (Korea time) and had no hits and one walk in three at-bats. Ohtani, who hit a home run in the last three consecutive games until the game against Cleveland the previous day, can be considered a day off for a while.




With this, Ohtani recorded a batting average of 0.292 (63 hits in 216 at-bats), 20 homers, 35 RBIs, 59 runs, 37 walks, 62 strikeouts, an on-base percentage of 0.394, a slugging percentage of 0.648, and an OPS of 1.042. He ranks first in home runs and runs in both leagues, and also ranks first in slugging percentage in the NL.

If Ohtani maintains his current pace, he can record 58 home runs, 101 RBIs, 171 runs and 32 steals. On top of that, if you return to the mound in the second half of the year, you are likely to do more and increase your team's contribution. There is no choice but to say that this year's MVP is Ohtani.

In December 2023, Ohtani, who wore a Dodgers uniform by signing a 10-year, 700 million-dollar contract for the first time in history, gave up the pitcher and paid for the batter. The biggest point to watch for the rest of the season is what kind of gold tower Ohtani, who achieved the first 50 home runs and 50 steals in history last year, will build this season.




I heard it's going to get better soon? Soto 4G has no hits in a row, and Ohtani, who is like a disheveled first season with a batting average of 140th, is aiming for MVP again
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani. AP Yonhap News
I heard it's going to get better soon? Soto 4G has no hits in a row, and Ohtani, who is like a disheveled first season with a batting average of 140th, is aiming for MVP again
New York Mets Juan Soto bowed his head to play defense in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on the 25th (Korea time). AFP Yonhap News
On the other hand, New York Mets Juan Soto, who signed an FA contract for 15 years and $ 765 million (about 1.519 trillion won) last winter and broke Ohtani's record and became a global sports 'top' in this category, is still at a loss.

On the same day, Soto started the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field, where he had no hits and one walk in four at-bats. The team lost four to nine.

Soto, who has been silent for four consecutive games since the game against the Dodgers on the 26th, has a batting average of 0.224 (45 hits in 201 at-bats), eight home runs, 25 RBIs, 34 points, 42 walks, 42 strikeouts, a on-base percentage of 0.352, a slugging percentage of 0.393 and an OPS of 0.745. It is the first time in two years and a month that Soto has not had a hit in four consecutive games since five games from April 14-18, 2023, when he was with the San Diego Padres.




Because of the perception that he is still a slugger, it is difficult to find other items in the rankings except that his walks are tied for third overall. In particular, the batting average is 140th out of 168 players who have met the prescribed batting average, 104th in slugging percentage, and 88th in OPS. Although it is an early evaluation because it is about a third of the entire schedule, all figures are significantly lower compared to 2022 when it was 'career'.

Soto played for the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres in 2022. He played in 153 games that year and marked a batting average of 0.242, 27 homers, 62 RBIs, 93 points, 135 walks, an on-base percentage of 0.401, a slugging percentage of 0.452 and an OPS of 0.853. Based on the same 56 games as this season, he had a batting average of 0.228, 12 homers, and an OPS of 0.831.

I heard it's going to get better soon? Soto 4G has no hits in a row, and Ohtani, who is like a disheveled first season with a batting average of 140th, is aiming for MVP again
New York Mets Juan Soto is hitting his career worst this season. AP Yonhap News
What was it like with the New York Yankees last year when the "FAroid" was in play. He hit .312 with 15 home runs and an OPS of 0.989 at 56 games. Was in a position to contend with fellow Aaron Judge for the best hitter in the AL.

He became a different hitter in a year. In an interview with local media NJ.com on April 22, when the slump was in full swing, Soto was working on adapting to the rhythm and adjusting the timing. I haven't reached the level I want yet, but I feel like I'm getting a little better every day"You can do much better than you have done so far in the future. The season-ending numbers will tell you. We have to wait and see until the end."

But now, more than a month later, the batting has gotten worse. In May, he has a batting average of 0.202 (18 hits in 89 at-bats), five homers, and an OPS of 0.737. This is in contrast to Ohtani's batting average of 0.297 (30 hits in 101 at-bats) in May, 13 home runs, and 1.147 OPS.

In addition, Soto made a big hit to the left against the Boston Red Sox on the 20th and walked without running, and when he fell off the Green Monster, he was criticized by fans for sprinting 'walk base'. He gave the impression that he wasn't even working hard.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.