Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s reaction to being moved down the order was quite telling regarding his awareness of his play.
Ohtani is hitting fifth for the first time since 2020 on Tuesday, October 6th, as the Dodgers face lefty ace Chris Sale.
For his career, Ohtani is only 3-for-15 with an RBI over 16 plate appearances against Sale, and Ohtani is managing a left knee injury and a right arm injury.
Additionally, over the last two games, Ohtani hit 2-for-8 with a lot of chasing and whiffing, two characteristic qualities of one of the best hitters in baseball.
With his health already compromised, a southpaw on the mound, and struggling at the plate, Roberts decided to move Ohtani down the order, prompting a conversation with his star player.
According to Roberts, the conversation with Ohtani went “good,” and the player has been quite aware of his struggles and willing to move around if asked.
Roberts said that when he previously moved Ohtani off leadoff because of Mookie Betts’ surge, Ohtani joked around and told Roberts he was going to tell him to “bat me 7th.”
“He’s a very good self-evaluator, a very extremely high competitor, and expects a lot from himself. I still think he is very confident,” Roberts said.
What Shohei Ohtani’s reaction means
Ohtani’s willingness, as laid out by Dave Roberts, shows the superstar isn’t running the show like many do.
Roberts can move Ohtani up and down the order based on performance, and the Japanese star knows when he is not at his best.
As the Dodgers prepare to face a monster like Sale, one of the nastiest lefties in baseball, Ohtani is humble and willing to move down, even with the postseason upon the team and his underlying belief in his abilities.
Ohtani did not flex his cache, nor his multiple MVP trophies.
While managing a massive, cross-cultural star like Ohtani will certainly bring challenges, getting him to do what is best for the team and to be open to different approaches is not one of them.
