Dodgers’ Mookie Betts Explains What It’ll Be Like Seeing Shohei Ohtani Pitch Next Year
The Los Angeles Dodgers added the most highly coveted free agent in Dec. 2023, two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani will now spend the rest of his major league career in Los Angeles and is primed to take L.A. to new heights. Through 51 games of the 2024 season, he’s done just that. Ohtani has been everything and more to the team, even though the fantastic two-way superstar has yet to display his other superpower in Dodger Blue: pitch.
The 29-year-old has only served as the Dodgers’ designated hitter thus far, as he is recovering from major elbow surgery that has caused him to focus solely on offense. If all goes well, Ohtani will pitch for the team in 2025 and beyond. Dodgers and baseball fans all around can’t wait to see him display his two-way prowess again, including Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts.
In a recent episode of Betts’ Bleacher Report show, On Base, he expressed his excitement to see Ohtani pitch next season.
The lefty slugger is one thing, but the dominant right-hander on the mound is just as good or even better. Ohtani’s numbers speak for themselves when he’s on the rubber.
In 86 games, the right-handed pitcher holds a 38-19 record, 3.01 career ERA, 608 strikeouts, and a 1.08 WHIP in 481.2 innings. The Japanese native is so talented at both that debates have been held on whether his hitting or his pitching would reign supreme in a hypothetical matchup.
Ohtani is the first and only player in the league with 10+ home runs, 20+ stolen bases as a hitter, 100+ strikeouts, and 10+ pitching appearances as a pitcher in the same season. The three-time All-Star was dominant in his last time on the mound, recording a 3.14 ERA, 167 strikeouts, and allowed a batter’s average of .184 in 132 innings.
Before we know it, Ohtani will again be the ace the Dodgers gave a boatload of money to. We have yet to see the full display of his powers but will soon.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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Perhaps Mr. Betts should curb his off field involvements until he’s able to perform his primary position as a Dodgers player at a satisfactory level. He’s backsliding and there doesn’t appear to be a error he’s not capable of committing in the process.