Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch isn’t known for intentional walks.
There were 5,995 plate appearances against the Houston Astros in 2019, and Hinch — the Astros’ manager from 2015-19 — didn’t issue a single intentional walk. For the Tigers in 2021, he entered Tuesday’s series opener with the Los Angeles Angels at six intentional walks.
The seventh came in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s 8-2 loss at Comerica Park, giving two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani a free pass with two outs. The walk put runners on first and second. The next batter, David Fletcher, struck out swinging at a slider from Joe Jimenez to end the threat.
“He’s scary,” Hinch said. “He’s one of, if not the best player in the league and certainly the most dangerous player in the league. That’s the biggest hat tip I can give him. I don’t want any part of him. David Fletcher’s no cakewalk behind him. … That’s not an easy scenario, but Ohtani’s at-bats are as scary as they come in the big leagues.”
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During Hinch’s eight-year managerial career with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2009-10), Astros and Tigers, he has instructed his pitchers to intentionally walk just 107 batters across 43,014 plate appearances.
That’s a 0.2% clip.
The 2019 Astros were the first team in MLB history to finish a season with zero intentional walks. (Intentional walks became a statistic in 1955.) Hinch ordered up just four over 5,913 plate appearances in 2018. He used the intentional walk more often earlier in his tenure with Houston: 17 in 2015, 19 in 2016 and 17 in 2017.
Ohtani, though, is an exception.
The 27-year-old has drawn two intentional walks from the Tigers (58-63) this season.
“I think you pray that he doesn’t hurt you,” Hinch said. “He is the most difficult player in the big leagues to prepare for. It’s incredible what he’s able to do, not only physically but also the quality that he brings. He’s a tremendous player and somebody I love watching from afar. I’m not going to enjoy watching him for three days. I’d like him to be as quiet as possible and get out of town. Enjoy his Michigan time and get on to the next one.”
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Ohtani is hitting .269 and leads MLB with 39 home runs for the Angels (60-61). He has 25 doubles, five triples, 86 RBIs, 58 walks, nine intentional walks and 143 strikeouts over 115 games, with a .364 on-base percentage and American League-leading .644 slugging percentage. He also has 18 stolen bases.
But those numbers boast just half his resume.
On the mound, Ohtani has a 7-1 record, 2.93 ERA, 39 walks and 112 strikeouts over 92 innings in 17 starts. In July, he competed in the Home Run Derby and became the first player in the 88-year history of the All-Star Game to start as both a pitcher and hitter.
“It’s awesome for the game and should open doors for a future version of him,” Hinch said. “It’ll be very, very unlikely anybody can do it as well as he’s done it. I’m sure there will be someone who tries, and there will be another good player that can perform at this level on both sides, but you’re not simply going to find a guy who can pitch and can hit and assume he’s going to be Shohei Ohtani. That’s not possible.”
Against Tigers rookie right-hander Casey Mize, who started Tuesday’s contest, Ohtani is 2-for-5 with one home run, two RBIs, one walk and two strikeouts. They have matched up for six plate appearances across two games.
“I definitely don’t want to downplay his talent because he’s a tremendous player and he’s so good for our game and special, but I game plan for him just like I game plan for everybody else,” Mize said. “I’m trying to attack weaknesses and stay away from strengths and do my best to get him out. He’s definitely tough because he’s a really, really good player.”
Catcher Grayson Greiner added: “He’s a power and a speed threat. If he doesn’t leave the ballpark and gets on base, he’s a threat to steal bases. Ohtani is an unreal player, an unreal talent.”
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.