Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, 30, is expected to bat in the Tokyo Series next March despite shoulder surgery.
Japanese media outlet SporNichi Annex reported on Monday (Jan. 9) that “a meeting of senior officials and agents from major league clubs has concluded. Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman was asked about Ohtani, who has a left shoulder injury, and replied that his current condition is fine.”
Ohtani is one of the biggest stars in the majors with a career batting average of .288-2.2 (3119-for-878), 225 home runs, 567 RBIs, 562 runs scored, 145 doubles, a .946 OPS and a 3.01 ERA in 86 games (481⅔ innings) as a pitcher with a 38-19 record and a 3.01 ERA. He signed with the Angels in 2018 and played with them until last year, when he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers.
After undergoing elbow surgery in September last year, Ohtani was unable to pitch this year and focused solely on hitting, but he still wowed fans by becoming the first player in major league history to reach 50 home runs and 50 doubles in 159 games (197-for-636) with 54 home runs, 130 RBI, 134 runs scored, 59 runs scored, and a 1.036 OPS. In the postseason, he didn’t quite live up to expectations, batting just 23-for-61 with three home runs, 10 RBIs, 14 runs scored and a .766 OPS in 16 games, but the Dodgers went on to defeat the Yankees four games to one in the World Series to win the coveted World Series title in his first postseason.
After capping off his historic season with a championship,
Ohtani underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. He was injured while attempting to steal a base in Game 2 of the World Series on March 27th. 메이저사이트 In the bottom of the seventh inning with the Dodgers leading 4-1, Ohtani, who was on first base with two outs, attempted to steal second base but failed and was injured in the process. Ohtani played through the injury and played the rest of the World Series, but surgery was not an option.
Luckily, the left shoulder he had surgery on is not the one he throws the ball from, so it shouldn’t affect his ability to resume his two-hitting duties. However, the surgery will delay his rehabilitation a bit, making it more likely that he will not pitch in the season-opening two-game series against the Cubs next March 18 and 19 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
Friedman said, “Ohtani is in good shape right now. We don’t have an exact timetable for his return. But we’ll take it one step at a time, and I think he’ll be fine,” Friedman said. “I think so,” he said when asked if he would be able to play in Japan as a hitter.
The Dodgers played the season-opening two-game series against San Diego at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul in March.
At the time the Seoul series was organized, Ohtani’s move to the Dodgers was not expected, but the fact that he made his Dodgers debut in Seoul was both exciting and disappointing for Japanese fans. The Tokyo Series next March will feature many Japanese players, including Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers), Shota Imanaga, and Seiya Suzuki (Cubs).
It will be interesting to see if Ohtani, who had a successful Dodgers debut in Seoul, will be able to meet Japanese fans in the opening series in his home country.