One of Danvers High School’s only players to make it to the MLB, Shane Smith, struck out the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani twice in a spring training game on the 8th of March.
Smith, the former 6-foot-4 high school athlete, was able to strike out the Ohtani, the first man in baseball history to put up 50 home runs and 50 consecutive stolen bases. Smith is also well known around DHS being the son of Danvers’ varsity football coach Jeff Smith.
Ohtani became famous last year for becoming the highest paid player in the MLB with a 700 million dollar contract, to be paid out over the course of ten years.
However, Ohtani was no match for Shane Smith. Pitching a 98 mph fastball to start the game, Smith only allowed one hit, without any walks, in his three innings at play. Proving his prominent pitching performance, Smith threw 32 of his 49 pitches for strikes.
In the past, Smith has also struck out other big names in baseball, like 2024 World Series champion Dodgers’, Freddie Freeman.
Smith, upon referencing the game, told the Salem News “Consistency is everything.”
Fans look forward to seeing Smith in the regular season continuing to improve.