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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 29: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels hits a two-run home run during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 29, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 29: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels hits a two-run home run during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 29, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Striking out the best of the players is one of the greatest honors for a pitcher. And if a pitcher gets that honor in his first strikeout, the happiness increases tenfolds. This is what happened with the Detroit Tigers’ rookie, Kody Clemens, when he struck out Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani.
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Clemens was selected 79th overall by the Detroit Tigers in the third round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. On May 30, he was called up to the Detroit Red Wings after Robbie Grossman was injured. Last night, Clemens had the first strikeout of his MLB career on his pitch to the AL MVP star Shohei Ohtani.
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What did Clemens do after striking out Shohei Ohtani?
As soon as he saw the pitch go untouched into the catcher’s hand, a punch got thrown in the air to celebrate the striking out of a star player.
That’s hilarious. You’re lying if you say you wouldn’t do the exact same thing. pic.twitter.com/WZcpHOnCfI
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) September 6, 2022
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It was the moment for Clemens that he will remember for the rest of his life, and Angels’ star Shohei Ohtani did help him a bit to celebrate.
Shohei signed the baseball that Kody Clemens struck him out with 😭 pic.twitter.com/oyNYTPUdFK
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 6, 2022
The ball will always be special for him, and so he kept it as memorabilia. But what made it even more special was that Ohtani signed that ball for Clemens, and wrote, “what a nasty pitch!” on it.
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Clemens posted a picture of the ball in a case on his Instagram story. It was a nasty pitch for Shotime, but it is going in Clemen’s achievements in Major League Baseball.
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What were the reactions of people after Ohtani got struck out?
After being strikeout, Shotime simply just walked away, but his pitcher’s reactions were amusing. Considering that he had just taken out the American League’s Most Valuable Player, Shohei Ohtani.
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you, dad" 🎵🎶
Kody Clemens jokes about adding his first big league strikeout against Shohei Ohtani. #DetroitRoots pic.twitter.com/wCz0Ca3H1n
— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) September 7, 2022
About the strikeout, Clemens said, “He’s the best player in baseball, so it was a pretty cool moment for me.” After 2 strikes, the pitcher thought that could be the moment for him to strike Ohtani out. And he did it, he just threw the ball, and next thing, Ohtani was out.
Watch this story: Japanese two-way baseball star Shohei Ohtani hits 100th Major League Homer
Do you think this would be an unforgettable moment for Clemens?
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