As everyone knows, when Shohei Ohtani, a name that most baseball fans are familiar with, arrived from Japan and demonstrated his abilities, Major League Baseball’s history underwent a significant change. It’s now Ohtani’s world and we all are part of it. He was having a good game on Bobblehead Night when facing the Athletics, hitting two home runs and six runs, until a position player played the spoilsport. The Thursday night will be remembered by many not just for the Dodgers’ massive 19-2 win over the Athletics but also for Pereda, who struck out Ohtani. As expected, the fans were stunned to witness it.

It’s the Oakland Athletics’ backup catcher, Jhonny Pereda, who stunned Shohei Ohtani in the eighth inning. After giving away three straight hits against the Dodgers’ batters in the bottom, Pereda didn’t expect the unexpected.

With the Los Angeles Dodgers leading by 17-2 at that time, Ohtani was sent to bat. While the first four pitches Pereda made were in the range of 62 to 68 mph, Ohtani was called first strike and then fouled another time. Following this, Pereda threw a fastball of 89 mph and the Japanese superstar went down swinging. MLB shared a post on X: “Position player Jhonny Pereda broke out the heat to strike out Ohtani … and kept the ball 😂.”

And that’s true—Jhonny Pereda kept the ball as a souvenir. A good way to show respect to one of the current greats in MLB. Injecting a little bit of humor into the incident, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “He struck out against a position player; how about that?” Their third baseman, Max Muncy, also voiced his response: “It’s kind of like, ‘Hey, I will show you how it’s done.”

However, the way Shohei Ohtani strikes out against the position player sent shockwaves through the fanbase. It is a rare sight to see, especially the way Ohtani has been going this season. He has already posted 15 home runs and 28 RBIs and batted at an average of .310, with a .409 OBP and a 1.082 OPS. Now with the internet abuzz, fans are pouring in their reactions about the incident.

Shohei Ohtani strike out against position player sets the internet ablaze

As the post by MLB reverberated across social media, fans were quick enough to share their hilarious reactions. One of them commented, “Grandkids, I once struck out the greatest player to ever touch a baseball field. Dayyummmmmm sick.” And who doesn’t want to tell a story about striking out one of the greatest players of this generation? Shohei Ohtani is the only player in MLB history to achieve the 50-50 title, as he posted 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. No other player has achieved this feat to date.

“Strikeout Shohei? Yeah, Pereda made sure that ball was going in the archives,” a comment that truly aligns with the current condition. After all, it’s a rare feat in MLB that many haven’t witnessed and for Jhonny Pereda, he would like to commemorate it, and it will hopefully be etched in his memories always.

Then came a little bit of criticism: “MLB admin typing this out and posting it.” The comment accompanied by a small clip shows Peter Parker crying his heart out, looking at his mobile phone and the same must be happening with the MLB admin, who must be shedding some tears as well. MLB once posted a bad tweet about Ohtani, questioning his calibre as a two-way player. It even led to many people and even MLB insiders questioning his future as a pitcher. Hopefully, they got the right answer now with Ohtani homering twice and scoring six runs.

Amid the funny dig at MLB, one user wrote, “Baseball is the freaking best.” 

Finally, a sensible comment came that said, “This guy was actually tricky; he was throwing 40 mph and then would throw 88 lol. Honestly, pitchers could learn from this guy.” He was throwing balls at a slower pace and suddenly the change in ball speed worked like a charm, which many other pitchers might get to learn, according to the fan.

Jhonny Pereda, 29, had a poor start this season as he didn’t score any home runs, just a single RBI at a .188 average, a .257 OBP and a .476 OPS. However, what he managed to do was nothing short of extraordinary. When facing Shohei Ohtani in the eighth, Pereda recorded the strikeout, his first this season.