Why is he throwing like that? Ohtani to change his pitching form compared to his LAA days, he will have his last chance as a pitcher with a wind-up motion
Feb 22, 2025
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Sports Illustrated (SI) reporter Tom Verducci highlighted Ohtani's new pitching form, or wind-up motion, in an article titled "Ohtani Shohei's new windup motion will make him more effective on the mound" on the 17th (Korean time), the day after Ohtani conducted his first bullpen pitching in spring training.
Ohtani did not use windup motion during his time with the Los Angeles Angels. Even when there was no runner, he pitched only in the stretch position, that is, the set position.
However, in the first bullpen pitching of the spring training held at Camelbacklan on the 16th, all of them used wind-up motions while throwing 14 balls. In response, Verducci explained 'Windup motion can provide more momentum to the body and theoretically reduce the burden on the arm.'
He said he decided to throw in a wind-up motion to maintain ball control stability and prevent elbow injuries by increasing his speed.
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Reporter Buducci defines Ohtani's new pitching form as 'Otani 3.0', placing both shoulders side by side toward the batter, pulling his left foot behind the pitching board, and starting pitching in the traditional wind-up motion. The right foot, which becomes the axis when you step on the left foot, seems to move slightly to first base, he explained.
A Dodgers official told reporters Verducci that `I don't think the change in pitching form has been widely discussed. But he has considerable will and confidence in everything he does" he said. This means that Ohtani decided to throw in a wind-up motion with his will.
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Reporter Buducci said 'The most impressive part of the Ohtani bullpen pitching on this day is that the position of the arm has become higher and more natural. The vertical release point of his four-seam fastball was getting lower and lower before the arm's position fell in 2023,' he said, analyzing 'There were no detailed indicators of the bullpen pitching that day, but his arm height was noticeably higher than in 2023.
Ohtani had two shoulder surgeries with Tommy John Surgery after entering the Major League. In an interview with a Japanese broadcaster immediately after shoulder surgery last year, he said, `It is not realistic to have another operation and rehabilitate for another year and a half. Then, I feel that this is the last chance for a pitcher."
It can be seen as the decision to install a wind-up motion to further increase the pitcher's life.
On why he wrote the windup motion, Ohtani said, "I threw it in windup motion because I wanted to explore various options and methods. I'm going to throw it that way this season."
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
