The Los Angeles Dodgers are ramping up three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani to make his long-awaited return to pitching and to debut on the mound in a Dodgers uniform. As fans patiently wait for Ohtani to return to his two-way star status, some new insight has been shared from the seasons he last stepped to the rubber.
Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain interviewed someone extremely familiar with the prowess of Ohtani on both sides of the ball in Los Angeles Angels beat writer Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.
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Fletcher discussed how perfect the timing of Ohtani’s MLB arrival was, and how a potential start to his MLB career out of high school may have ruined the two-way excellence that fans are so used to.
“I’d actually always believed that he really just loved pitching,” Fletcher said to McKain on a recent episode of Dodgers Dougout Live. “You know, it’s funny, because at the beginning of his career, when he first came to the U.S., people didn’t think that he was a hitter. They said, ‘He’s just a pitcher, he’s not going to make it as a hitter, come on, this is ridiculous. And, you know, if he would’ve originally signed with the Dodgers out of high school, then he never would have been a hitter.”
It’s hard to imagine that a three-time MVP winner who is the first and only player in MLB history to hit 50 or more home runs and steal 50 or more bases could have never picked up a bat in North America if he came to the States earlier than he did. But that was almost the case.
“As he went along through,” Fletcher added, “I got the sense that he really liked hitting a lot more. Maybe that was because he kept getting hurt as a pitcher, maybe just because he could [hit] everyday, but I believe now that hitting is his preference and if he had to choose one or the other, he would choose hitting.
“But I think his ultimate choice still is to do both because he wants to be unique, he wants to do something that nobody can do and I think that that’s what being a two-way player is for him.”
Utilizing Ohtani in the most efficient way possible as he looks to return to the hill is paramount to the Dodgers, and a natural point that has come up is changing Ohtani from a starting pitcher to perhaps a reliever role.
Fletcher joked that Ohtani’s routine is so long that if he made a relief appearance, there would have to be a 30-minute stoppage for him to prepare, but also seriously spoke on what is best for the MVP.
“It’s a big routine and it works best as a starter for him.”
As Ohtani inches closer to his Dodgers pitching debut, he will hopefully get back to his two-way dominance and continue doing things that MLB hasn’t seen in over a century.
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Photo Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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One Response
Are expectations too high for the pitching return of Ohtani? Also, how many times has Ohtani struck out as lead-off hitter his first time up each game? Don’t get me wrong; I am so glad that he is a Dodger.