Shohei Ohtani’s Season Performance
Shohei Ohtani is showing his unique talents on the baseball field in ways that leave many fans impressed. He can hit, he can pitch — he seems to do it all.
Hit 50 home runs? No problem. Steal 50 bases? Sure thing. Achieve both in a single season? Why not? He can even lead the league in ERA if that’s what he aims for.
As the two-way star for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani has a career OPS of .951. He’s had three straight years with an OPS hitting 1.000 or higher, and just last season he hit 54 home runs, following it up with 55 the year before. But, this year hasn’t quite met those lofty expectations he set for himself.
His batting average this season stands at .240 with an OPS of .796, which would be his lowest, apart from the canceled 2020 season.
On the other hand, he’s excelling in his pitching game.
After throwing seven scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants, Ohtani now boasts the best ERA in the MLB at 0.82. Remarkably, he’s allowed only four earned runs this year, and half of those came during a tough matchup against the Houston Astros earlier this month.
In an unconventional twist, Ohtani expressed his desire to excel on both sides of the game but remains realistic. “The ideal situation would be to be great on both sides of the ball,” he shared following the Dodgers’ solid 4-0 win over a division rival. “But even if I’m not contributing offensively, I know I can still help out on the mound.”
Manager Dave Roberts echoed Ohtani’s sentiments, noting, “He wants to be the best pitcher in baseball, and he’s accomplishing that right now.” There’s a lot of emphasis on how he prepares and executes when he pitches.
Interestingly, Ohtani didn’t pitch at all in 2024 but made a comeback last summer, finishing with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.014 OPS in 14 starts, and clinching his fourth MVP award in the last five seasons.
The Dodgers are aware of how hard Ohtani works and the impact it has. It’s common knowledge that his hitting tends to dip when he’s pitching. This season, they’ve primarily focused on utilizing him as a pitcher.
“Last year, there was a lot of debate about whether he should just hit and not pitch. Now, the perspective seems to have shifted,” Roberts said. “I can’t even imagine what’s going through his mind, but we’re definitely trying to manage him carefully. You can’t have a one-size-fits-all approach; it’s more about being adaptable and responding to how he feels.”
For now, it’s a unique situation where the Dodgers boast the best pitcher in baseball leading off their batting lineup — reminiscent of the old pre-DH days, but with the pitcher batting first instead of ninth.
At the end of the day, there’s little doubt that Ohtani will find his groove again at the plate, especially while he’s excelling on the mound.
