SAN DIEGO — Shohei Ohtani Makes History with Leadoff Home Run

After nearly a month away from playing both as a pitcher and hitter, Shohei Ohtani wasted no time making his mark, shattering another MLB record with just one pitch.

Despite missing his last three games, the two-way prodigy returned to the lineup as the designated hitter and started as the leadoff batter at Petco Park on Wednesday night.

He took to the plate, ready and determined, and on his very first pitch, he hit a surprising home run.

This isn’t Ohtani’s first foray into record-breaking. In Game 4 of last year’s National League Championship Series, he became the initial pitcher to hit a leadoff home run in an MLB playoff game, where he astonishingly scored three homers and struck out ten batters. His latest feat solidifies his place as the first pitcher in regular-season history to accomplish a leadoff home run.

Now, this is interesting—there hasn’t been a lot of competition for this record. Researcher Sarah Langs noted that only three other pitchers in the modern MLB era have led off games, which puts Ohtani in a unique category.

What’s striking is, lately, he seems to be back in form. His latest blast, off a high fastball from Padres pitcher Randy Vazquez, was just his eighth home run of the season—definitely not on the 50-plus home run trajectory he had over the last two seasons. However, it highlighted a resurgence for him, marking his 13th hit and seventh extra-base hit in just seven games.

Prior to this, Ohtani had been in a slump, struggling with a .200 batting average for about a month. Perhaps that’s why the Dodgers had kept him out for those three hitless games. But clearly, Ohtani wanted to make a statement, a bold one, in his much-anticipated return to form on the field.