There are somehow many weird facts surrounding Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani's ASG home run

94th MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard
94th MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard / Sam Hodde/GettyImages

When Shohei Ohtani hits a home run, you know it immediately. First there's the bat crack that one could make ASMR compilations out of, and then it's just the body language. He twists, connects, watches it go, and starts a slow trot to first, because he knew as soon as he hit it that the ball was leaving the park. Everyone else just has to stand and watch.

During the All-Star Game on Tuesday night, the unlucky pitcher on the receiving end of said bat crack was the Red Sox's Tanner Houck, who got the ball for the AL in the third behind rumored Dodgers target Tarik Skubal. Jurickson Profar and Ketel Marte got on base with a single each, and then it was Ohtani's turn. He saw a splitter and slider, both of which he took to get to a 2-0 count, before Houck threw hanging splitter that ended up exactly where Ohtani liked it.

Twist, connect, crack. Joe Davis noted on the call that American League right fielder Juan Soto didn't even move. Mic'd up, he just watched it sail clear above his head into right field.

Shohei Ohtani's majestic three-run homer in the All-Star Game marked multiple first-of-their-kind oddities for Dodgers star

Like seemingly everything Ohtani has done this season, it was a first for him in multiple regards. It was, weirdly enough, his first three-run homer of the year. He became the first player to win an All-Star Game as a pitcher (2021) and hit a home run in his ASG career. He was the second Japanese-born player to hit a home run in the All-Star Game, and the first to watch it go into the stands (Ichiro Suzuki hit an inside-the-parker in 2007).

With one swing, the NL went up by three runs, and everyone got to bask in the rightness of Shohei Ohtani hitting a homer in the All-Star Game.

However, something that plagued Ohtani throughout his time with the Angels also followed him to Arlington. The AL tied the game up with a Juan Soto double and David Fry single, then Jarren Duran got to play the hero in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run homer. The NL couldn't come back from that, making Duran the game's MVP and Ohtani the only NL player to get on base twice that night (he walked in the first inning) and the only one to score runs for his team.

It's been said before and it'll be said again and again, Ohtani is a one-of-a-kind player. Even though he wasn't able to take home his first All-Star Game MVP trophy, the homer was just another reminder of how lucky the Dodgers are to have him.

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