Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ sensation, dropped a confident line on Saturday. He’s “very confident” he’ll swing bats as the designated hitter on March 20. They’re kicking off against the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea. Yep, you heard that right.
got the scoop. Ohtani’s recovery? On track, he says, amidst the buzz of DodgerFest.
At 29, Ohtani’s dual-threat days hit a snag. An elbow op last August benched his pitching. Then, an oblique injury paused his batting. But, hey, setbacks didn’t stop a $700 million handshake with the Dodgers. That’s a lot of zeros, even with the fine print. And, snagging his second American League MVP? Just Ohtani things.
Despite arm woes, Ohtani’s bat spoke volumes. From 2018-20, limited pitching didn’t curb his hitting spree. Over 254 games, he boasted a 125 OPS+ with 47 homers and 147 RBI. Not too shabby.
Now, about those games in Seoul. It’s a first for MLB in South Korea. Ohtani’s no stranger, though. He swung for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic there. And won, by the way.
Postseason blues had the Dodgers shopping. Enter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Teoscar Hernandez, and James Paxton. A mix of trades and free agency moves aimed to shake things up.
Heading into 2024, Ohtani’s stats gleam. A .274/.366/.556 hitter with a 148 OPS+. Pitching? A solid 142 ERA+ and a 3.51 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His MLB journey? A whopping 34.7 Wins Above Replacement, says Baseball Reference. Impressive, right?
