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Shohei Ohtani tin simply do immoderate he wants connected nan shot field.
Hit 50 location runs? Sure. Steal 50 bases? You sewage it. Do them both successful nan aforesaid season? Sounds good.
Lead nan fields successful earned tally average? If you opportunity so.
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Shohei Ohtani pitches for nan Los Angeles Dodgers against nan San Francisco Giants astatine Dodger Stadium successful Los Angeles, California, connected May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)
The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way prima surely isn't hitting up to nan expectations he has group for himself, owning a life .951 OPS, posting an OPS of complete 1.000 successful 3 consecutive years, and hitting 54 and 55 homers successful each of nan past 2 seasons, respectively.
It's truthful acold been a down twelvemonth astatine nan sheet for Ohtani, who's hitting .240 pinch a .796 OPS. Not including nan truncated 2020 season, those would beryllium nan lowest marks of his career.
But he is astir decidedly making up for it connected nan mound.
After posting 7 scoreless innings against nan San Francisco Giants connected Wednesday, Ohtani is now pitching to an MLB-best 0.82 ERA.
Ohtani has allowed conscionable 4 earned runs connected nan season, half of which came earlier this period against a stout Houston Astros offense, successful 44.0 innings pitched.
Shohei Ohtani pitches for nan Los Angeles Dodgers against nan San Francisco Giants astatine Dodger Stadium successful Los Angeles, California, connected May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)
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"(The) perfect business is to beryllium awesome connected some sides of nan ball," Ohtani said aft his gem successful nan Dodgers' 4-0 triumph complete their NL West rivals, via The Athletic. "But really I look astatine it is if I’m not contributing offensively, past I cognize I tin lend connected nan pitching broadside of things and vice versa. So I return it arsenic that."
"He wants to beryllium nan champion pitcher successful baseball, and correct now, he’s doing it," head Dave Roberts added. "You tin show he’s hyper-focused connected nan mentation portion of it, and past evidently nan days that he starts, nan execution."
Ohtani did not transportation successful 2024 and returned to nan mound past summer, pitching to a 2.87 ERA successful 14 starts amid his 1.014 OPS, bully for his 4th MVP successful nan past 5 seasons.
The Dodgers person been observant pinch Ohtani's workload, sometimes keeping him arsenic a pitcher only this season, arsenic it's good known his violative numbers return a deed erstwhile he's connected nan mound, understandably so.
"It’s absorbing because past year, location was a batch of conversations that he shouldn’t transportation and conscionable beryllium a hitter," Roberts said. "Now, it’s benignant of flipped connected its head. I can’t ideate what goes done his mind, but I do consciousness clarity connected really we’re managing him. There’s nary 1 measurement to spell astir it. You’re conscionable trying to beryllium fluid, and respond and respond to really he’s feeling."
But astatine nan very least, nan Dodgers presently person nan champion pitcher successful shot this play hitting astatine nan apical of their lineup. It's for illustration nan pre-DH era, isolated from nan pitcher is batting first alternatively of ninth.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way subordinate Shohei Ohtani delivers a transportation successful nan first inning against nan San Francisco Giants astatine Dodger Stadium successful Los Angeles, California, connected May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)
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And it should astonishment cipher if, and when, Ohtani finds nan bat — while still mowing down everyone he faces 60 feet, 6 inches away.
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