Imagine this: a universe where the thunderous crack of Shohei Ohtani‘s bat isn’t followed by the electrifying hum of his fastball. Where Dodger Stadium reverberated with chants of “Sho-time!” for only half the game. It’s a reality that almost came to pass, a twist of fate hinging on a single rule: the Designated Hitter.

“He always wanted to be a Dodger,” declares Jim Callis, an MLB insider with an X-ray vision for player prospects, in a recent EssentiallySports Exclusive interview. “There was no DH in the National League when he came over originally. If I think there’d have been, he would have been a Dodger in 2017.” That year, when a young, fire-breathing Ohtani burst onto the American baseball scene, the DH was still an alien concept in the NL. His ambition? To blaze a trail as a full-time two-way superstar, a Unicorn in a league built for limitless specialization. But without the DH rule, pitching meant sacrificing his bat in the NL, turning his once-in-a-generation talent into that of a part-timer.

How a missing DH rule almost swung Shohei Ohtani’s destiny: An exclusive speculation by EssentiallySports

The Los Angeles Dodgers, with their championship pedigree and bottomless pockets, were Ohtani’s dream destination. Just picture him unleashing nukes alongside Clayton Kershaw or painting flyouts alongside Cody Bellinger in ’17. “They win, they spend money to get better, they do a really good job at developing players, so they’re constantly bringing rookies up and have players to trade,” Callis adds in the EssentiallySports Exclusive interview, laying out the allure. He gets it!

But alas, fate had other plans—at least it did, until two years ago. The NL held firm to its nine-man tradition, forcing Shohei Ohtani to choose between hitting and pitching. He landed with the LA Angels in 2018, where he carved his legend anyway, leaving Dodger fans to wonder what could have been.

Fast forward to 2022, and the DH waltzed into the NL, a rule change as thunderous as Ohtani’s fastball. Suddenly, the two-way dynamo was unleashed. But it wasn’t always a sure thing. Remember, just a few months back in 2023, when he was up for grabs in free agency? The Toronto Blue Jays, with their potent DH-friendly lineup, were serious contenders, lurking just across the NL-AL divide. Some whispered that without the DH in the Dodgers’ backyard, Shohei Ohtani’s path might have taken him North. But fate had other plans.

Watch this story: Shohei Ohtani’s Two-Way Dream: Before Injury, He Always Wanted Both!

As the NL embraced the DH position, the cosmic joke was rectified, and in December 2023, Ohtani signed with the Dodgers. Now, Dodger Stadium is getting ready to get the full Shohei symphony, bat, and arm in perfect harmony. While you can’t rewind history, it’s hard not to wonder: was the DH’s arrival the missing piece that finally brought Ohtani to LA, or would the Blue Jays have snagged him in a different world?

Read More: EXCLUSIVE: Top MLB Analyst Jim Callis Opens Up on Shohei Ohtani’s Unique Deferrals, Emphasizes It’s Unprecedented Nature

So next time you hear the roar for Shohei Ohtani, remember the alternate timeline—the one where his Dodger dream almost landed on the cutting room floor. The DH’s arrival wasn’t just a rule change; it was a cosmic alignment, a chance to witness greatness unchained. For that, Dodgers fans and baseball purists alike can raise a grateful glass (or, you know, a Dodger hotdog).