Two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani is no stranger to rare feats, but what he’s doing Sunday is striking even for him. Ohtani will be the Angels’ starting pitcher against the Padres, and he is also in the lineup as the team’s leadoff hitter.
If that sounds like it doesn’t happen a whole lot, well, it doesn’t. The last starting pitcher to lead off while staying on the mound for more than one inning in a regular-season game was Jim Jones for the New York Giants in the second game of a doubleheader on Sept. 30, 1901. (Jones lost a five-inning complete game and went 0-for-4).
Since then, only two players have started on the mound and batted first: the Giants’ Al Dark (Sept. 27, 1953) and the Twins’ César Tovar (Sept. 22, 1968). But both players were longtime position players making the only pitching appearances of their careers, with Tovar going on to play all nine positions that day against the A’s.
Finally, Ohtani — though regarded as one of the fastest players on the Halos — has only led off to start a regular-season game once in his career.