Over the years, Mike Trout and, especially, Shohei Ohtani have had to do most of the heavy lifting for the Los Angeles Angels.
Even with those two on the roster, the Angels haven’t made the playoffs since 2014.
The Angels haven’t exactly been a model of consistency over the last 10 years.
The problem has gotten so bad at times that Ohtani usually has to do most, if not all of the work.
One stat in particular shows how badly the Angels have done at consistently driving in Ohtani.
shohei ohtani has driven in himself in 41 times while driving in 43 teammates pic.twitter.com/oFXBkJkhGJ
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) August 13, 2023
With 41 homers, Ohtani leads the American League and is second in MLB.
He has scored 90 runs, which means he has had to do it himself 41 times.
Theory would suggest that a player in the top two in home runs would also be among the very best run scorers in the league.
However, he is not even in the top five: Ronald Acuna Jr., Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Matt Olson, and Marcus Semien all have more runs than Ohtani, who comes in sixth in MLB.
It’s not that the Angels offense is bad, but the truth is that there is a huge gap between Ohtani-Trout and everyone else in the lineup.
The 59-60 Angels, more than ever before, are depending on Ohtani being excellent to have any chance of making the postseason.
Trout still hasn’t played a game since early-July with a wrist injury, so while he should be back relatively soon, Ohtani will need to lead the way while he is gone.
Perhaps more importantly, his teammates will have to step up.
NEXT: Angels Insider Highlights A Real Sense Of Urgency
