Thursday was another tough day at the office in what's been a tough year for Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, but he wasn't about to take the potentially easy way out when it came to history-making Shohei Ohtani. According to the game broadcast, Schumaker said "F--- that" to the idea of intentionally walking Ohtani in the seventh inning with two on and two outs.
At that point in the game, Ohtani was 4 for 4 with a home run, two doubles, a single and two stolen bases, so walking him under ordinary circumstances wouldn't have been out of the question.
One doesn't need to be a lip reader to Schumaker's response:
Skip Schumaker
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 19, 2024
asked if he's walking Shohei
"F*ck that" pic.twitter.com/FxgofCdrE9
But these weren't ordinary circumstances, and Ohtani is an extraordinary player.
Ohtani hit his second home run of the game -- and his 50th of the season, becoming the lone member of the 50-home run, 50-steal club -- moments later.
SHOHEI OHTANI HAS DONE IT
— MLB (@MLB) September 19, 2024
50 HOME RUNS | 50 STOLEN BASES
HISTORY pic.twitter.com/GRVJUCbpja
At the time, it looked like that would be the final plate appearance for Ohtani. Instead, he got another plate appearance in the ninth inning and ...
6-FOR-6
— MLB (@MLB) September 19, 2024
THREE HOME RUNS
10 RUNS BATTED IN
SHOHEI OHTANI HAVE MERCY 🤯 pic.twitter.com/VMJp9OqgjZ
Ohtani's final line was 6 for 6 with three home runs, two doubles, a single, two stolen bases, 10 RBI and four runs scored.
According to Craig Mish, Schumaker said postgame: "Good day for baseball, bad day for the Marlins." That sums it up nicely.
The Marlins fell to 56-97 on the season. The Dodgers, on the other hand, improved to 91-62 and clinched a playoff berth.