Royals' Batter Has Perfect Response After Facing Shohei Ohtani’s Fastest-Ever Pitch

Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino knows a thing, actually two, about facing Shohei Ohtani's fastball. 

Ohtani, who took an injury-forced break from pitching for nearly two years, took the bump against the Royals on Saturday for his third appearance of the season and showed off his fastball, to put it mildly.

After giving up a hit in the first inning, Pasquantino stepped to the plate for Kansas City with one out and a runner on first base. He grounded into an inning-ending double play, but the fact that he made contact with Ohtani's fastball was an accomplishment, given that it was clocked at 101.7 mph, the fastest pitch that the Japanese superstar has ever thrown in his MLB career.

Believe it or not, Pasquantino has actually seen a slightly faster pitch from Ohtani.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the fastest pitch Ohtani has ever thrown in his career was a 102 mph heater during the 2023 World Baseball Classic against none other than Pasquantino.

The Kansas City first baseman reacted to that fact in perfect fashion after seeing Passan's post on X.

After the game, a 9-6 win for the Royals, reporters asked Pasquantino about the unfortunate fortune of seeing Ohtani's two fastest pitches of his career, and he gave a great response.

"He keeps doing that to me," Pasquantino said. "I need to talk to him."

Ohtani finished Saturday's contest after pitching two innings, his longest outing of the year, and struck out one batter.

While Pasquantino may have grounded into a double play in the first inning, he had a day to remember in Kansas City's victory, driving in five runs with a home run and a double on the afternoon.