And for the first time in history! 43 home runs, 34 steals, 141 strikeouts, Ohtani returns to the mound in May
Feb 04, 2025
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts attended Dodger Fest at Dodger Stadium on the 2nd (Korea time) and said, "Otani is likely to return to the big league mound in May. It could have been faster." "The first thing I said at the beginning of this offseason was that he would not play in the Tokyo Series in Japan. If you go into spring training and watch the pitching program, that's when you'll start."
The Dodgers will hold the opening two consecutive games against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, Japan, on March 18-19. Ohtani is not ready as a pitcher until then, but he is expected to take the mound in May. Ohtani underwent surgery on his right elbow in September 2023 and went into last-minute rehabilitation late last year, but stopped pitching rehabilitation after undergoing surgery on Nov. 6 to seal his ruptured Wasun while stealing in Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 27. Ohtani started touching the ball again in December last year, and Roberts believes he will not take the mound until at least the end of April.
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If Ohtani takes the mound in May, he will be able to start 16 to 20 times by the end of the season in September. In other words, he can throw more than 100 innings.
Reflecting this in the forecasting system Steamer, FanGraphs, which specializes in statistics, predicted that Ohtani will take the mound in 21 games this year with a 9-6, a 3.48 ERA, 121 innings and 141 strikeouts. ZiPS, another forecasting program, saw it go 7-4 with 100 ⅓ innings, a 3.77 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 17 games.
Stimmer predicted Ohtani to hit 0.280 with 43 home runs, 104 RBIs, 123 runs, 34 steals, and an OPS of 0.939, while ZiPS's predictions are 0.290 with 45 home runs, 139 RBIs, 127 runs, 42 steals, and OPS of 0.972 in 152 games.
In response, MLB.com mentioned Ohtani for the third time on the 3rd in an article titled '10 Players to Fight for the 2025 Recordbook'. It quoted the Steamer forecast.
Reporter Sarah Reims, who wrote the article, wrote 'Otani had an incredible season, writing 50-50 last year. Now in 2025, "Shottime is returning' he is expected to strike out 141 on the mound and hit 43 home runs at the plate. In the history of Major League Baseball, there is only one player who has recorded more than 15 home runs as a batter and more than 100 strikeouts as a pitcher in a season. That's Otani. It introduced that the corresponding records were prepared for 2021-2023.
In the meantime, 'This year's expected stolen bases are 34, and if so, Ohtani will achieve 30-30 for the second consecutive year and record 40 home runs-20 stolen bases for the fourth time in his life. This is equivalent to Alex Rodriguez's record, adding that the players who have made 40 home runs-20 steals three times are Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, and Ohtani.
Rodriguez made 40-20 over four seasons, including 1998 (42 home runs - 46 steals), 1999 (42 home runs - 21 steals), 2005 (48 home runs - 21 steals), and 2007 (54 home runs - 24 steals). Bonds was listed on the 40-20 list in 1993 (46 home runs-29 steals), 1996 (42 home runs-40 steals), 1997 (40 home runs-37 steals), Canseco was also listed in 1988 (42 home runs-40 steals), 1991 (44 home runs-26 steals), and 1998 (46 home runs-29 steals), respectively.
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However, if the pitching performance is combined, it will be the first record in history. In other words, if Stimmer marks 43 home runs, 34 steals, and 141 strikeouts, he will add 30 steals to the 15 home runs and 100 strikeouts he made three times, setting another new milestone.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
