Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani was on the mound during Tuesday’s clash against the Nationals, and amid yet another dominant outing from Los Angeles’s right-hander, home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez couldn’t help but wonder if the 28-year-old was abiding by the rules.
Ohtani, who uses the PitchCom system to call his game on the mound, was questioned by Marquez as to whether he had a foreign substance located under his armpit.
When approached by Marquez, Ohtani quickly humbled the suspicious umpire by showing him the PitchCom system, which just so happened to be located around his armpit.
After the right-hander lifted his arm to show the umpire his PitchCom, Marquez immediately began laughing, appearing to realize that his suspicions were incorrect.
An ump tried to bust Shohei Ohtani for foreign substances under his armpit but it turns out that’s just where he keeps his PitchCom device pic.twitter.com/WDe7z0W8ep
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 12, 2023
The umpire could be seen smiling before appearing to apologize to Ohtani, and patting him on the arm before walking off.
PitchCom devices are more often seen on a player’s wrist or belt, so the placement of Ohtani’s was a bit unusual. Ultimately, Marquez assured him everything was fine after briefly investigating the situation.
The Halos’ two-way sensation logged another strong outing, striking out six batters without surrendering a run across seven innings. He walked five batters while giving up just one hit during the Angels’ 2-0 win over Washington.
