A whopping $700,000,000 deal for 10 years—that’s what the Los Angeles Dodgers spent on Shohei Ohtani. And it’s for a reason: he is incredible, and his two-way abilities are unparalleled. While many players have shown two-way abilities, no one has been able to quite shine as brightly as Ohtani. Just at Friday’s game, he hit a home run No. 35 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a fashion that has everyone talking. 

MLB fans are mad about Ohtani’s humble personality, his million-dollar smile, his dog Decoy, and, of course, his gameplay. Not just fans; it seems even Dave Roberts is mesmerized by the Japanese icon. And no, it’s not because Ohtani is Japanese, like his mom—it’s purely Shohei Ohtani’s skill that astonishes him.

Is Shohei Ohtani on his way to being the best baseball hitter?

Every time you think Ohtani cannot do better, he brings up another class performance. And this is exactly what he did at the game with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He hit a two-run home run in the third inning that was crushed. That 448-foot bomb off Mitch Keller had an exit velocity of 113.9 mph, regaining the NL HR lead in style!

Dave Roberts, manager of the team, recently came out to talk about how that sound of the ball off Ohtani’s bat startled everyone—talk about making an impact. Further, Roberts even went on to compare Shohei to the iconic hitter Barry Bonds. “I played with Barry Bonds and the ball just didn’t come off like it does on shoulder from shoulder is bad… Barry might be the greatest hitter of all time. But with Shohei, how hard the ball comes off is just different than anything I’ve ever seen,” said Dave Roberts to the Sporting Tribune. 

Right now, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees is the best hitter in baseball. He leads with 41 home runs. But Judge should be wary because Ohtani is surely catching up. The Dodger’s star has a slash line of .302/.389/.622 and an OPS of 1.011. Given that Ohtani is a pitcher, he started hitting as a hobby and is now second in the race for being the best hitter—it just shows his potential. And it underscores what Dave Roberts means when he says that Shohei is “different.” Plus, Ohtani is doing all this while he is recovering from an injury!

Shohei Ohtani’s future on the mound this season and his recovery

On August 23, 2023, fans were stunned when Shohei Ohtani left his start against the Cincinnati Reds in the second inning. Later, the bombshell news dropped—he had a torn UCL! And it was serious. The ligament injury to his elbow kept him out of pitching for the rest of the season. But he still knew how to hit, and he has been hitting and excelling since!

However, the Japanese star hasn’t forgotten about his elbow and is continuing with rehab to get back to the mound to do what he does best. His rehab has reached a point where he is doing intense catch sessions. In March, he started throwing from 30 feet, and now, five months later, he is able to throw a catch from 150 feet and at 85% intensity, as reported by ESPN. So far, his progress has been fruitful, and there are some chances of him being on the mound as early as September. The plan is for him to face live hitters and throw some simulated innings before the playoffs start. But if you’re to look at it realistically, it’s unlikely that the team would do anything to risk their star player injuring again.

In fact, MLB insider Gonzalez said on Dodger’s Territory, “He’s going to get off a mound here pretty soon. The Dodgers want him to face hitters, simulated game, light batting practice. The Dodgers will not be pitching him in the playoffs, that’s out of the question.”

Fans are hoping to see their favorite get a full recovery, but well, this season might just have to end without Ohtani’s dazzling pitching performance. Well, although tempting, maybe taking it more slowly is what’s smart for Ohtani and the Dodgers team right now. What do you think?