If you ask baseball fans who owns the 2024 season, one name will surely get the most votes—Shohei Ohtani. Starting the season, he had a lot going on. He came in with an injury and couldn’t pitch. He still, though, had to prove he was well worth the $700 million that LA doused on him. And well, he spent a great amount of time doing exactly that. He legit piggybacked the Dodgers to their championship win. But he got injured again.

In his words, this off-season has been awfully short for him. And well, it’s understandable. He had a hectic offseason, had to get a labrum surgery and rehab, and then has now a baby on the way. Plus, he also might have been busy with the Sasaki deal, as everyone now knows, he played a role in the 23-year-old coming to LA too. And making the situation even more busy was the LA fires that struck the area massively. He had to leave his house with his pregnant wife, and he recently talked about the entire experience.

Shohei Ohtani had to evacuate his home

Shohei Ohtani this time around didn’t get to go back home. He, along with his wife, had to evacuate their home due to the devastating Los Angeles wildfires last month. He spoke at the Dodgers fan fest and shared how the flames got extremely close to the house, so they had to leave in the middle of the night.

“I quickly packed up my stuff in the middle of the night,” Ohtani recalled. Ohtani was also battling with the flu, making things not really simple. But the real heartbreak for him came when he realized the devastation it left behind. “I just really felt my heart sink when I witnessed the areas and houses that burned down. I had the chance to talk to firefighters and found out that a lot of them didn’t have the chance to go back home,” Ohtani shared. 

And over the off-season, Shohei Ohtani has been really open and supportive of the community. He, along with his other Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Emmet Sheehan and Ben Casparius, all took action. They visited Fire Station 69 in the Pacific Palisades and thanked the firefighters who spent weeks fighting off the dangerous fires. The LA Dodgers franchise donated $10,000 to the station and also $350,000 to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.

Sheehan, in fact, shared his heart out, “For us, it’s just getting to spend time with these guys. I can’t imagine what these guys saw. From what we saw, I can’t imagine being here when it was actually happening and trying to stop the situation.” The players sure did stand up for the community that stands behind them.

Shohei Ohtani is nervous about what’s ahead

One would think an MVP, a star player, and the literal winner of the last World Series would be confident moving forward, but he is nervous. Well, not on the professional front. That’s because, on that front, Shohei Ohtani is excited, mentioning to his fans that he may be back on the mound, pitching again. But he couldn’t pinpoint exactly when. However, he is nervous about the changes going on in his personal life.

Shohei Ohtani likes to sleep 10 hours a day, and now that he and his wife Mamiko Tanaka are expecting their first child, things are going to change. It’s not an easy feat, handling a baby after all. Ohtani said during the Dodgers fanfest, “I’m equally nervous and excited about the baby.” Clearly, this season has seen him stepping into a lot of firsts.

And for all the fans, there is nothing to worry about; he won’t forget Decoy with the baby arriving. At the fanfest, he mentioned how he hopes Decoy and the baby get along. That right now he just hopes a healthy baby comes along. Well, much of Ohtani’s famous high school list is slowly coming true. For the 2025 season, the expectations from the experts and fans are, of course, high.

After all, he smashed the 50-50 feat when he wasn’t even operating at his full caliber. So, how he would rock when he is in full showtime form is what everyone is looking forward to. Are you too excited to watch him in action? Let us know your thoughts.