PITTSBURGH — Remember when the Pirates were the talk of baseball? When the sport buzzed about their shocking 20-8 start? It seems like a lifetime ago now, doesn't it? The Pirates have gone 15-34 since. They have turned back into laughable losers.
Football season can't get here soon enough, right?
But that doesn't mean there aren't amazing baseball stories to follow.
A once-in-a-lifetime player is having a another Babe Ruth-like season, only better. Another player is trying to become MLB's first .400 hitter since Ted Williams in 1941. A third has a chance to become the sport's fifth 40-40 man. A fourth, at 20, is doing things on the mound that haven't been done since Dwight Gooden was 20 in 1985. A fifth is being compared to Mickey Mantle despite just 17 games in the big leagues before Monday night's game in Baltimore.
This is turning out to be an extraordinary season because of five incredible ballplayers:
Shohei Ohtani
Is there any doubt he's going to win his second MVP award in three seasons, especially with the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge on the injured list for the second time this season?
Ohtani leads the Los Angeles Angels in virtually every offensive category: average, runs, hits, triples, home runs, RBIs and OPS. He also leads the Angels in every important pitching category: wins, ERA, strikeouts, WHIP and batting-average against.
How is this for an unprecedented combo?
Ohtani was tied for the MLB lead with 25 home runs going into the games Monday night. He also ranked fourth with 117 strikeouts.
The redoubtable Ruth must be applauding from his grave.
Ohtani has created quite a dilemma for the Angels. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and is expected to sign a $600 million deal with another team. Do the Angels — in a close fight for a wild-card spot — keep him and try to make the postseason for the first time since 2014? Or do they trade him at the trade deadline for a haul instead of just losing him as a free agent?
Angels general manager Perry Minasian said he is leading toward keeping Ohtani. It's going to be fascinating to see what happens at the trade deadline.
Luis Arraez
The Miami Marlins second baseman entered Monday hitting .399, 71 points higher than baseball's next-best hitter for average, Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. The Pirates actually did pretty well against Arraez in the weekend series, holding him to six hits in 17 at-bats. One of his hits was a home run Saturday, leading the Marlins to a 4-3 win in 11 innings.
"This kid is a magician," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. "He was in Minnesota when I was in Minnesota. He can handle the bat as well as anyone I've ever seen. Rod Carew was one of the first people to say, 'This kid has a chance to win a batting title.' He can really handle the bat great."
Ronald Acuna
Maybe 40-40 is a bit of reach for him because he has just 16 home runs to go with his .328 average and MLB-best 4.2 WAR in 77 games for the first-place Braves. But he does have 35 stolen bases. And he also has been a 30-30 man, hitting 41 home runs in 2019 to go with 37 steals.
The only 40-40 men in baseball history? Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano. You'll be a hit at your next trivia night if you name Soriano.
Eury Perez
The Pirates saw the Marlins phenom starter on Sunday. It was no surprise he threw six shutout innings and allowed four hits with nine strikeouts and one walk. Sure, it helped that the Pirates offense is so lame. But Eury has been dominating every opponent. In his last six starts over 33 innings, he has given up one run, 20 hits and nine walks with 38 strikeouts. That's a 0.27 earned-run average.
Did I mention Eury just turned 20 on April 15?
And we're excited about Johan Oviedo, Luis Ortiz and even Mitch Keller?
Elly De La Cruz
His promotion to the big leagues on June 6 roughly coincided with the Cincinnati Reds' 12-game winning streak that ended Saturday. Their young third baseman, 21, took a .333 average and a .989 OPS with three home runs, 10 RBIs and eight steals into Monday night's game. He hit for the cycle Friday night — the Reds' first in 34 years — against the Braves.
"This is extreme, but has there been a better switch-hitting, speed-power guy?" Reds star Joey Votto asked last week. "The only comp I can think of is Mickey Mantle."
That is some comparison considering Mantle is one of baseball's all-time greats and De La Cruz is just getting started.
Babe might be applauding Ohtani in his grave, but I'm guessing The Mick is rolling in his.
