Saturday, December 9, 2023
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2023
Christmas came early for Dodger fans. Shohei Ohtani chose the Los Angeles Dodgers to play for the next ten years for $700 million. While the Dodgers need pitching, they could use a premiere hitter, which is Ohtani. In 2025, Ohtani can return to the mound.
Ohtani is the only player to win two unanimous American League MVPs while with the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani never came close to going to the postseason during his time with the Angels. He didn’t get the attention from the nation and Japan he deserved since the Angels haven’t been committed to winning. Now he will get the attention and respect he deserves.
Ohtani can hit for both average and power. In the 2023 season, he hit .304 with 44 home runs and 95 RBI while starting 23 games as a starting pitcher. He didn’t play for most of September because Ohtani underwent his second Tommy John surgery since 2018.
When healthy, Ohtani is one of the elite pitchers in the major leagues and probably will win multiple National League Cy Young Awards if he can stay healthy. He throws about a 100 miles-per-hour fastball, a slider, and a split-finger fastball. He has almost perfect control.
Offensively, Ohtani will help the Dodgers. He will protect Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and Max Muncy and Will Smith will protect Ohtani. With Ohtani’s offense, the Dodgers could deal with unknown offenses from James Outman and Gavin Lux. Although the Dodgers need a right-handed left fielder, Ohtani can play in the outfield, but they have Johnny DeLuca, a rookie, who can play a good left field.
The Dodgers needed a new face of the organization with Clayton Kershaw’s future with the Dodgers. This past October, Kershaw underwent his first major arm surgery, and he might be able to pitch after the All-Star break. He might retire at 36 if the rehabilitation process doesn’t go well. While the Dodgers will welcome Kershaw back, his career would be short.
Ohtani will be the perfect face of the organization. He is a clean-cut, hard-working baseball player. Almost everyone marvels at his unusual baseball talent. From the beginning, Ohtani looked like the perfect Dodger, and both Tommy Lasorda and Vin Scully are smiling down at Andrew Friedman.
