Shohei Ohtani had gotten off to a bit of a slow start in his first season with Los Angeles Dodgers and through eight games had yet to hit a home run.
Ohtani is still not fully recovered from right elbow surgery he underwent on Sept. 19, 2023, at least not on the throwing side. It was the second right elbow surgery Ohtani has had in his career, and the Dodgers were aware he would not pitch at all during the 2024 eason.
With a whole separate aspect of his game that he no longer has to devote a significant amount of energy to for the time being, some have wondered if only being able to focus on hitting has affected Ohtani at the plate.
“I don’t know because his first handful of years, I think one year he didn’t pitch. So for him to be able to just focus on hitting and then now introduce a throwing program, I don’t think it has anything to do with him being a tick off offensively,” said manager Dave Roberts.
“I don’t, because that program takes 30 minutes a day, every other day. So I don’t think it affects that. I just think right now, in general regardless of if he was pitching or not, he’s just a tick off. But sometimes it just takes one swing, and then you sort of find it.”
Ohtani himself recently said he was tracking pitches well but his timing at the plate felt off.
Roberts made his remarks hours before Ohtani hit his first home run with the Dodgers, a moment that has been created for a limited-edition bobblehead.
Further to Roberts’ point, Ohtani did start a throwing program late last month and is on an every-other-day schedule, so he is doing more than solely hitting.
Meanwhile, it seems as if Ohtani is trusting his process as he has shown no visible signs of frustration in the dugout or clubhouse.
“Obviously, I’m sure he is frustrated because you expect the best out of yourself,” Roberts said. “But we’re winning baseball games, and that’s the most important thing. And we know he’s going to be a very productive player for us.”
Shohei Ohtani’s first homer a sign of things to come?
If all it takes is one swing like Roberts expressed, then Ohtani’s seventh-inning home run on Wednesday in the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants could be just what he needs to catch fire.
Ohtani’s homer was not only his first with the Dodgers, but proved to be a crucial insurance run after the Giants had cut into their deficit. It also stood as the difference for L.A. as Jorge Soler hit a solo home run in the eighth inning.
Taking a look at Ohtani’s expected batting average of .322, it seemingly was only a matter of time before he started to get the results. He is now hitting .270/.317/.432 after the Dodgers completed the sweep against the Giants.
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