Shohei Ohtani couldn’t help but smile.
He singled on the first pitch he saw Tuesday to reach first base, where Detroit Tigers veteran Miguel Cabrera — one home run away from No. 500 in his 19-year MLB career — waited to greet the Los Angeles Angels’ two-way sensation.
Ohtani bent over to take off his leg guards. Cabrera reached into Ohtani’s back pocket and snatched his batting gloves. Once Ohtani noticed his gloves went missing, he looked at Cabrera and grinned. And then he stole second base.
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Cabrera loves two things: playing baseball and playing first base. His opportunities to roam the infield are rare these days, at least compared to the days of his prime. When he is on the field, he shows his love for the game by chatting up his opponents and pulling pranks. Ohtani seemed to enjoy the antics, as he did when the Tigers traveled to Anaheim earlier this year. It’s clear they respect each other.
“He’s obviously a great hitter, one of the greatest of all time,” Ohtani said Wednesday night, after serving the Tigers a 3-1 loss behind eight innings of one-run ball and his 40th home run this season. “More than that, he’s a wonderful person when I’ve dealt with him.”
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Cabrera is going to hit his 500th home run at some point, and Ohtani would not have been upset if it had happened against him Wednesday night. Instead, Cabrera finished 1-for-3 with one single and one strikeout in their most recent showdown.
“He’s so respected in the baseball world that it would’ve been OK if I was the one that gave up his 500th homer,” Ohtani, 27, said. “Personally, I want to see it happen sooner than later.”
Ohtani later added: “I didn’t really have a specific game plan against him. I just wanted to throw whatever I felt the best with in that situation and make my best pitch there.”
In their June 17 matchup, Cabrera went 0-for-2 against Ohtani with two strikeouts and one hit-by-pitch at Angel Stadium. In the top of the fourth, Ohtani beaned Cabrera in the helmet with an 86 mph splitter. The 38-year-old dropped to the dirt. He quickly jumped up, adjusted his helmet and trotted to first base.
In the fifth, Ohtani drew a walk and made his way to first base. Cabrera put his arms up like a boxer and gave Ohtani a slow-motion jab toward his cheek with the mitt on his left hand. During that game, Ohtani delivered six innings of one-run ball.
“They have mutual respect,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “We’ve seen their gamesmanship. Both players play with personality. The facial expressions from Ohtani and the fun-loving that he’s having and the culture difference that we get to see. Every time he addressed the umpire, he takes his hat off. That’s part of the Japanese culture. That’s what we’re learning about with the competition side of Shohei.
“It’s great for baseball to see so many people of so many different parts of the world excel at this level. It’s why I love this game. It’s why I love this league. We’ve tapped into numerous countries to bring the best talent to the big leagues. That’s why it’s the best league in the world.”
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This season, Ohtani boasts a .269 batting average with 25 doubles, five triples, 40 home runs, 87 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. He also has an 8-1 record on the mound with a 2.79 ERA, 39 walks and 120 strikeouts over 100 innings in 18 starts.
Cabrera is a two-time American League MVP, 2012 Triple Crown winner, 11-time All-Star, seven-time Silver Slugger award winner, four-time batting champion and 2003 World Series champion. He secured the Triple Crown — the 17th in MLB history and first since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 — by hitting .330 with 44 home runs and 139 RBIs. (The next year, in 2013, he hit .348 with 44 homers and 137 RBIs, beating out Ohtani’s current teammate Mike Trout for his second MVP in a row.)
Once upon a time, the fans at Comerica Park chanted “MVP” for his performances. On Wednesday, after Ohtani’s solo shot to right, some “MVP” calls could be heard from the crowd in Detroit.
What did Hinch think about that?
“Yeah, I agree,” Hinch said. “He’s an incredible, special talent.”
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And then, in the ninth inning, the fans stood to watch Cabrera, a Tiger for 14 seasons, as they have for each of his plate appearances since his return to Comerica Park on Friday. It was his final chance of the night to crush his 500th home run.
Facing Angels closer Raisel Iglesias, who took over for Ohtani after the eighth, Cabrera flied out to the back of the warning track in right field. The fans, louder than ever, almost witnessed a great moment in baseball history, not long after watching greatness from the best player in baseball this season.
“All the fans are standing up when he is hitting,” Ohtani said, “so it’s tough for him to be in that at-bat with all the pressure. I think that pressure kind of helped me.”
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.