An SF Giants rookie pitcher got Shohei Ohtani’s autograph in the coolest way possible.
The SF Giants recently called up rookie reliever Nick Avila. He did not have a great outing as he allowed two earned runs in two innings pitched, but he did gain a lifelong memory after he struck out Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.
SF Giants rookie gets Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s autograph after striking him out
In his outing against the Dodgers, Avila struck out Ohtani, which was the first strikeout of his big league career. While any big league debut is memorable, it is even more memorable when you get your first punch out against one of the premier players in the sport.
Not only that, but in a touch of class Ohtani even signed the ball that Avila used to strike him out. Ohtani is a Dodger and a sworn enemy, but it is cool that he would take the time to do that even though many stars would refuse to do so. Avila said that he has already sent the picture of the autograph to several of his friends.
Avila is a pitcher we may see a lot more of this season. He had a very respectable ERA of 3.00 in Triple-A last season while going on an incredible run. Plus, with the bullpen being a bit of a weak spot to start the season, it would not be surprising to see the Giants cycle through a lot of different arms to figure out the best bullpen they can put together.
Luke Jackson has already gone down to injury. Plus, the team has had to rely a lot on inexperienced arms like Erik Miller, Kai-Wei Teng, and Landen Roupp, so Avila could be another young pitcher they lean on heavily throughout the year. One way to figure out what is in the farm system is to throw them into the deep end and see if they can swim.
Even if Avila struggles this season, he will have a pretty awesome memory from his first MLB game. He can show that ball to his grandkids one day and tell them that he struck out one of the greatest hitters of his generation. Not too shabby for an MLB debut.
