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Shohei Ohtani is already known as one of the most feared players in baseball. He’s about to get even scarier.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ superstar, a two-way player who pitches and bats as a designated hitter, has not thrown to batters off a mound in 641 days after elbow surgery in September 2023. But in a simulated game before the Dodgers’ matchup with the New York Mets at Citi Field on Sunday, Ohtani threw 22 pitches to five batters.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, pitching coach Mark Prior and teammates looked on from a few feet away. It was the first sign that Ohtani — a three-time MVP — could be pitching in a real game soon.
“I haven’t thrown in a while, so it was nice to be able to feel like I was a pitcher,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after the Dodgers’ 3-1 loss to the Mets. “I just kind of remembered those days when I used to have a lot of good memories as a pitcher.”
Ohtani reportedly threw mostly fastballs, cutters and sinkers with two sweepers and a sinker. His fastball ranged from 94 to 97 mph.
After he began his MLB career with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani pitched five seasons in Anaheim. When he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023, the expectation was that that would continue. But two operations on his elbow paused that dream, and so far he has only hit with the Dodgers.
Roberts said that it is likely to change after the All-Star break in mid-July.
“I’ve gotten so used to seeing him as a hitter,” Roberts said after Ohtani threw. “So to see him on the mound just solely as a pitcher, it was different. And certainly exciting for all of us.”
Prior said he was impressed with what he saw after such a long layoff.
“He looks good. He looked healthy,” Prior said. “That’s always the main thing with facing hitters — that he feels confident, his endurance is good, he maintained his stuff. From that standpoint, it was good. Pitch movement-wise, it looked good, too.”
Los Angeles is certainly in need of extra reinforcements.
Three members of the Opening Day rotation — Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki — are out with shoulder injuries, which has turned one of the best pitching staffs in baseball into one of the team’s biggest question marks.
The Dodgers (33-21) are in first place in the National League West but are only two games ahead of the San Diego Padres.
Ohtani, who leads baseball with 20 home runs this season, is the only two-way player in the league. It has happened in the past — Babe Ruth is the top example as a pitcher and outfielder — but it is few and far between largely because of the physical and mental demands.
Ohtani is 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA and 608 strikeouts in 481 2/3 innings over five MLB seasons. Adding his prolific arm every five days could immediately bolster the Dodgers’ hopes of winning back-to-back World Series championships.
His opponents are already taking notice.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, who watched the practice session, called Ohtani “special.”
“He’s getting ready to be the leadoff hitter for the Dodgers and four hours before the first pitch, he’s throwing 95, 96 (mph) with a split,” Mendoza said. “He’s having fun. That’s what the game needs, players like that. It’s just fun to be out there and watch him do his thing.”
The “fun” for Mendoza didn’t last too long.
Just four hours later, Ohtani stepped to the batter’s box and crushed Mets pitcher Kodai Senga’s fastball 411 feet into the second deck in right field.
