Ohtani throws near Canha's head and he doesn't enjoy it, a breakdown
What Happened
On May 28, 2021, Shohei Ohtani started for the Angels against the Athletics and went right after Mark Canha with high heat. In the first inning he pumped fastballs up and in before walking him. The tension peaked in the third when another high-and-tight fastball buzzed near Canha's head, drawing an animated reaction from the hitter. Catcher Kurt Suzuki started jawing in defense of his pitcher, and a brief war of words broke out before Ohtani struck Canha out swinging on a fastball. In the sixth, Ohtani actually plunked Canha with a breaking ball, but by then nobody cared.
Why This Matters
Pitching up and in is a legitimate weapon, but stringing together heaters near a hitter's head is how benches clear. The funny part here is the role reversal. Ohtani, the soft-spoken superstar, kept apologizing and waving his hand while Suzuki did the barking. That is a catcher protecting his ace, full stop. Canha had every right to be spooked after a fastball sailed toward his skull, and his frustration was about message-sending, not the eventual HBP. The aftermath was tame because Ohtani never seemed to be headhunting on purpose. This came during Ohtani's breakout 2021 two-way season, the year he won AL MVP, so seeing him in a chippy spot on the mound was a small window into how rivals tested him. He answered with a strikeout, which settled it.
With 2.6M views, this breakdown ranks 69th of 1,583 Jomboy videos, landing in the top 4.4% of the entire catalog.
Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: Shohei Ohtani, Mark Canha. Teams: Athletics.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentMark Cana stepping into the box against
Shi Otani this is in the first inning I
just wanted to see how Otani pitched
Cana and he pitches him with high fast
balls up and in fast ball he's going to
throw another high fast ball here he
ended up walking him in the first St bat
now in the third inning canah steps up
no outs runner on first Otani goes high
and then with the second Pitch he's
going to go high and inside again but he
misses a little bit it comes close come
on
show let's [ __ ] go let's [ __ ] go
get that [ __ ] out of here stop it it's
too close it scared me I don't like it
now Suzuki the catcher he's got to stick
up for Otani otani's his dude he's the
stud on the team he's a younger guy in
the league you can't have someone boss
him around so Suzuki starts jawing at
him saying stop showing up my picture he
says I'm done I'm not I'm not I'm not
I'm not Otani is just like it's a it's
okay my bad my bad I'm sorry about it
and then Suzuki is still yelling so now
ka's like well dude come on he threw the
ball at my [ __ ] head I'm allowed to
react I'm allowed to be a little scared
because of that come on now otani's like
hey uh this is funny and the um says
yeah it's kind of funny how are you oh
all red top down every part of them
Otani can I have a ball because once
this is done I'm going to finish the at
bat right ump hands him the ball in the
splitter grip maybe a little message
there from Blue saying hey split's been
working for you why don't you do that 2
becomes 2-1 becomes 3-1 hitters count
swings through that fouls it back and
then gets tied up on the fast ball
Suzuki guns them down strike them out
throw them out double play Otani and
Suzuki have their way and Otani goes
clap clap clap clap clap for you can I
can't believe it he's like this sucked
all around then in the sixth inning
comes up to bat again low and Away
breaking ball up and in hits him this
time but now no one cares because they
already got it out of their system and
Canes will gladly take his base and
Otani says Hey see how I reacted I
definitely didn't mean to hit you also
not a good result for me