LOne hundred sixty-five kilometers an hour. That's the claim: fastest pitch a Japanese pitcher has ever thrown.
MShohei Ohtani. I know that number.
LGeoFacts on X posted the whole Ohtani in numbers thread: born July fifth, 1994, Oshu, Iwate.
MActually born in Mizusawa, Iwate—now part of Oshu. The thread got the current city right.
LYou couldn't let that slide.
MI'm the fact-checker. It's my job.
LFine. 2016 Japan Series champion. Pacific League MVP. Nippon-Ham Fighters.
MAnd the one sixty-five? That's one hundred two and a half miles an hour. Absurd.
LPeople forget he was doing this at twenty-one, before Major League Baseball.
MI'm not forgetting. I'm just saying one pitch doesn't make an ace.
LHe won the Japan Series and league MVP in the same year!
MAnd he later had elbow surgery. That's also the resume.
LYou want to hold injuries against him? He's still the most talented player in baseball.
MI hold mileage against any pitcher. That's not controversial.
LIt's not mileage, it's history. There's a difference.
MTell that to the ligament.
LFine. Let's talk history. The guy threw one hundred two and a half before he got to the Dodgers.
MAnd he could hit. That's the whole problem with the one pitch argument.
LHow is it a problem?
MBecause people think 2016 Ohtani is the same as 2026 Ohtani. He's not.
LHe's still the best two-way player on earth.
MWhen healthy. Those two words are doing a lot of work.
LThen let's remove them. If he's healthy this year, what do you want to see?
MI want to see him pitch a full Major League season. Not a highlight, not a month.
LI want to see him throw a hundred in the first inning and hit a homer in the fifth.
MYou want the movie. I want the box score.
LThe box score is boring.
MThe box score is real. That's my point.
LSo what, you're not excited?
MI'm excited about the numbers he's already produced. I'm not writing the sequel before he pitches.
LThat's the most Marcus thing you've ever said.
MI'll take that as a compliment.
LOkay, let's argue the big question: should the Dodgers even let him pitch again?
MIf he's healthy? Yes. The arm is too valuable to sit.
LI think they should protect the bat and use him as a closer at most.
MA closer? That's a waste. You don't spend a decade developing a front-line starter to use him in the ninth.
LYou do if every start risks the bat. The bat's worth more.
MThe bat wins MVPs. The arm wins championships.
LThey won a World Series with him in the lineup. I'm not sure they need the arm.
MThat's one title. A healthy Ohtani pitching gives you three more.
LOr it gives you a torn ligament and no Ohtani at all.
MNow you're playing scared.
LI'm playing smart. The Dodgers don't need the 2016 Ohtani.
MBut if they get it, the league might as well cancel October.
LThat's a big if.
MIt's the only if that matters. That's why the one sixty-five still matters.
LThe one sixty-five was ten years ago. You just said 2026 is different.
MIt's different, but the ceiling is the same. That's the whole argument.
LSo you want him to be 2016 again?
MI want him to be 2026 and healthy. The numbers will take care of themselves.
LFine. I'll say this: if he pitches fifteen starts and hits thirty homers, it's the greatest season ever.
MI'll say if he pitches fifteen starts, I want to see innings, not just strikeouts.
LYou're impossible.
MI'm consistent.
LThe thread says the fastest pitch by a Japanese pitcher is one sixty-five. That's real.
MReal and historic. I just won't let it make me forget the rest.
LThen we agree on the talent, disagree on the risk.
MAnd that's why we're here.