The 2024 MLB Home Run Derby was held on Monday at Globe Life Field, which saw Teoscar Hernández become the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first winner of the event.
While it all worked out for the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani was the player many originally wanted to see participate in it once again.
After initially expressing interest, the two-way star, in conjunction with the Dodgers coaching staff, decided it would be best to skip this year’s Home Run Derby as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
“I think it was a group kind of discussion that I respected, and I’m sure everyone else, as disappointed as people might be, respected,” manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani’s decision to skip the event.
“And again, he signed up here to help us win a championship, and nothing should get in the way of that.”
The decision wasn’t easy as millions of baseball fans would have liked to see Ohtani, arguably the sport’s biggest star, take swings in this year’s Derby.
“Absolutely. No player moves the needle in baseball more than Shohei, as far as on a global scale,” Roberts said. “And so that responsibility, he feels more weight, it’s real. So, yeah, I felt it. I feel it.”
Roberts previously indicated that Ohtani skip the Home Run Derby in order to focus on getting healthy. “The reason he came to the Dodgers was to win a championship,” Roberts said earlier this month.
“And it’s not solely his responsibility to carry Major League Baseball. And he is a guy that is very in tune with his responsibility and the fact that he started an All-Star Game, participated in the Home Run Derby before for the fans.
“But he is going through rehab, and his job, he signed up to play for the Dodgers, and to take care of himself the best way he can.
Shohei Ohtani’s Home Run Derby history
Ohtani has only appeared in the Home Run Derby once in his career, when he was eliminated by Juan Soto in the first round in 2021. Ohtani became the first pitcher to ever participate in a Home Run Derby.
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