Shohei Ohtani missed his scheduled start on Thursday for the Los Angeles Angels against the Oakland Athletics. Angels Manager Joe Maddon revealed why.
Shohei Ohtani missed his start tonight because of a traffic jam on the Bay Bridge. Perhaps Sho Time is human after all.
Los Angeles Angels Manager Joe Maddon explained that Ohtani and the rest of the team got stuck in traffic on the way to RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland. The best part? They even tried getting on the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) in an effort to get to the ballpark in time for Ohtani to take the mound.
Can you imagine sitting on the BART when an entire professional baseball team gets on board, including MLB’s newest superstar? We sure hope photos turn up.
Ohtani scratched from start after taking BART
We’ve all had to make a plan B before, and when the Angels bus was forced to turn around, jumping on the BART was the next best option. However, the Angels claim things only got further delayed from there.
“There was an issue with the transfer on the BART, and that kept pushing him back,” Maddon told reporters during his pre-game media availability. “For us, Shohei’s most comfortable, because he’s pretty regimented, to get everything going about 4 o’clock for his start, so that was exceeded by maybe an hour.”
In the end, the team elected not to have Ohtani pitch with his pre-game routine out of whack. Baseball is full of superstitions, after all.
Some Oakland Athletics fans rightfully pointed out that the whole problem could have been avoided had the Angels stayed in Oakland for their game against the A’s.
BART also refused to take the blame for the visiting team’s delay.
Ultimately, Bay Area baseball fans will have to wait for another day to see Ohtani start on the mound.