Ohtani's heart is becoming grand, finally resuming pitching, heralding the revival of the true emperor of the Second Ryoo

Feb 11, 2025

MLB닷컴 기사캡쳐

The true meaning of 'The Emperor of the Second Ryoo' has started a brilliant return.

It was also revealed that he was trying to start pitching with one leg raised on the practice mound while wearing a pitcher's glove. It's a scene where my heart is pounding just by looking at it. Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) has started pitching training for both pitching and hitting in the 2025 season. The project for reviving pitchers seems to be steadily progressing.

MLB.COM, the Major League website, said on the 11th (Korea time) 'Otani started pitching training in Dodgers uniform a day before the official spring camp training. Ohtani is scheduled to play both pitching and hitting for the first time since joining the Dodgers,' he reported.

LA다저스 SNS

Dodgers SNS also showed Ohtani pitching on the mound wearing blue shorts and a white T-shirt. It is quite encouraging to start pitching training normally at the beginning of the spring camp. It is proof that Ohtani's 'return to pitching' is not that far away.

Ohtani has proven that he can succeed in the major league stage with 'bodied pitching and playing. As a pitcher, he joined the Los Angeles Angels through posting in 2018 and started 86 games by 2023, recording 38 wins and 19 losses with a 3.01 ERA.

As a batter, he appeared in 3,119 at-bats in 875 games and hit a batting average of 0.282 with 225 home runs, 567 RBIs and a 0.575 on-base percentage of 0.371. In particular, last year, the first season of his transfer to the Los Angeles Dodgers, he hit a .310 batting average, 54 home runs-50 steals, and 1.036 OPS, achieving the first '50 home run-50 steals' in Major League history.

The reason Ohtani played only as a batter last year was to make a comeback as a pitcher. He had surgery on his right elbow in September 2023 when he was a member of the Los Angeles Angels. So in the 2024 season, I didn't throw the ball at all and was only focused on rehabilitation.

However, Ohtani did not completely give up his role as a pitcher. Ohtani has a firm conviction in 'Both-and-forth business'. That's why I invested the whole of 2024 to make an arm that can throw a ball. At the fan festival in early February, he said "(pitcher) rehabilitation program is going on normally."He expressed his strong belief in returning to the pitcher this season.

In the end, as Ohtani planned, the pitcher revival project is going smoothly. In this regard, Japanese media Sports Hochi began pitching training at the Dodgers' training ground in Glendale, Arizona, where Otani is training for spring camp. First, he played catch at various distances, and threw 91 miles (about 146km) at the actual pitching distance.

Ohtani and LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts do not plan to rush back to pitching. MLB.COM said, `Otani is expected to be a pitcher around May.'Otani's return to the pitching lineup is the most interesting story line to watch in the Dodgers spring camp.'

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.