Shohei Ohtani is once again on pace for another 50-home run season after slugging his 27th of the year on Tuesday in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ comeback win against the Colorado Rockies.
That home run was also the 300th of Ohtani’s professional career across Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and MLB with the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers.
Since the 2021 season, Ohtani has slugged 205 homers, proving himself to be one of MLB’s premier power threats. But even with his light tower power, Ohtani has only participated in the Home Run Derby once.
Baseball fans would surely love to see Ohtani take part again, but whether he does in 2025 remains to be seen.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked about Ohtani possibly participating in the Home Run Derby at Truist Park, but said he’ll defer that to the two-way slugger, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“That is a question for Shohei,” he said. “I’m staying out of that.”
Ohtani last participated in the 2021 Home Run Derby as a member of the Angels. He lost to Juan Soto, who was with the Washington Nationals at the time, but the two put on an exciting show with a 31-28 homer final.
Ohtani started out the Derby slowly, hitting just five homers before taking his time out with 1:20 remaining. He then launched 15 home runs to close it out before adding two more in the bonus round.
Both Soto and Ohtani hit six homers in their one-minute swing off, but Soto went on to win by hitting all three of his pitches out in the three-pitch swing-off round.
Despite falling short, Ohtani became the first Japanese-born player to participate in the Home Run Derby, and the first to also pitch in the All-Star Game the following day. He also set the record for most home runs of at least 500 feet in the derby with six.
Ohtani also previously won the 2016 NPB Home Run Derby.
Shohei Ohtani would consider Home Run Derby
Ohtani declined to participate in the 2024 Home Run Derby, but said he would consider it in the future after he’s no longer rehabbing from right elbow surgery.
“This year, just being that I’ve been limiting the amount of work I do in the cage, I just see that as a workload issue,” Ohtani explained through interpreter Will Ireton last year. “And so when I’m back up and healthy pitching again next year, it’s something I would reconsider.”
Ohtani had previously expressed interest in taking part in the event and would have considered if his circumstances were different.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
