Shohei Ohtani has been even better than advertised at the plate for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024, the first of a 10-year contract with the team.
His production has dipped in the last two weeks, but he is still slashing .330/.395/.615 with a 1.011 OPS with 14 homers and 38 RBI. His .615 slugging percentage is the best in baseball and his 1.011 on-base plus slugging and 184 OPS+ are the best in the National League.
What Ohtani is doing is already very impressive as he rehabs a torn UCL on the pitching side, but off-field drama certainly could have affected his play. In the last two months, Ohtani has learned that his best friend and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara stole millions of dollars from him to settle gambling debts, and faces potentially 7-9 years in prison.
With the Mizuhara scandal plaguing the opening of the season for the Dodgers, it would have been perfectly understandable if Ohtani had gotten off to a slow start. However, he doesn’t believe in off-field issues affecting him on the field, according to Jack Harris of The L.A. Times:
“I don’t think the mental side affects my play,” Ohtani said. “I think that as long as you have solid technique, you can hit regardless of your mental state. I want to separate that [off-the-field problems] from what I have to do on the field.”
It wasn’t long ago that Ohtani admitted that the whole saga made him lose sleep.
He remains a firm believer that strong mechanics won’t be affected by off-field issues. And the numbers are certainly proving his point. Ohtani crossed the 1.000 OPS threshold on April 8 — the 13th game of the Dodgers season — and he hasn’t dropped below since.
Ohtani is showing why he is one of the best hitters on Earth and why he has — with seeming ease — won two of the last three American League MVP awards unanimously.
Shohei Ohtani hit 80 mph in throwing program
Ohtani has no plans to pitch for the Dodgers in 2024, but a recent update shows he could be on track to return at the start of the 2025 season as he had initially hoped. He began a throwing program and reached 80 mph on throws from 60 feet.
While there have been rumors about Ohtani’s status as a two-way player possibly being in doubt, he continues to prepare as if he will pitch for the Dodgers next season.
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