Did a chip off an old Red Sox block land at the feet of Shohei Ohtani?
If you ask, Nick Gordon, the answer is “yes.”
The Minnesota Twins outfielder jokingly compared himself to the Los Angeles Angels superstar Thursday in the aftermath of his first career pitching appearance. Gordon, the son of former Boston Red Sox pitcher Tom “Flash” Gordon,” hurled one inning in the Twins’ 11-3 loss to the Houston Astros. The younger Gordon faced four batters and allowed only one to hit safely in a stint he had been requesting for some time.
“I’ve been kind of asking (Twins manager Rocco Baldelli) to pitch since last year,” Gordon said, per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park. “I feel like I kind of resemble Ohtani a little bit.”
Ohtani is 16-7 with a 3.42 ERA in 41 starts in his MLB career.
Gordon has a long way to go before he proves himself a worthy heir to Ohtani, who won the 2021 American League MVP award for his prowess on the mound and at the plate.
Tom Gordon was a three-time All-Star and pitched four of his 21 MLB seasons with the Red Sox. Such longevity is a worthwhile goal for Nick Gordon to try to match, regardless of whether he reaches Ohtani’s two-way peaks.
