PHOENIX — Certainly, the man has a flair for the dramatic.
Just when you wonder how Los Angeles Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani will recover from his offseason shoulder surgery, rehabbing not only his shoulder but also trying to pitch again at the same time, along comes a magical moment Friday night when you wonder if he should be wearing a Superman cape.
Ohtani, who suffered a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder in Game 2 of the World Series, left a sellout crowd shrieking in delight Friday night when he homered to the opposite field in his first at-bat of the spring against his former team, the Los Angeles Angels, and his former classmate from Hanamaki Higashi High School in Japan, Yusei Kikuchi.
“He does not cease to amaze,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “There was a lot of anticipation for this night, and for him to homer in his first at-bat off Kikuchi was pretty special.’’
Well, so much for any concern with his shoulder.
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“Obviously, he’s fine,’’ Kikuchi said, “after that first homer that he hit, to be able to hit it that far. I’m sure he’s going to be able to put up the same numbers this year.’’
Ohtani, who hit 54 homers and stole 59 bases last season — the charter member of the 50-50 club — may have difficulty duplicating his MVP season. Roberts plans to rest him occasionally once he returns to the mound in May, and wants to keep him from running as frequently as last year.
Still, the man may be the greatest show on Earth.
“The guy is incredible, just incredible,’’ Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto said. “I plan on being on the top step every time he hits this year. I don’t want to miss anything.’’
Ohtani, who popped up and struck out in his next two at-bats before leaving, believes that with about 50 plate appearances in live batting practice and exhibition games this spring, he’ll be ready by the time the Dodgers open the season March 17-18 in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs. The shoulder, he insists, feels perfectly normal.
“Regardless of the results,’’ Ohtani said, “I think the biggest takeaway was being able to go through my three at-bats without any issues.’’
Ohtani shook his shoulder after his last at-bat, but there was no pain or discomfort, he said — just making sure everything felt fine.
“I was just checking to make sure it was OK,’’ Ohtani said. “My last at-bat, my last swing, I was pretty late, and my shoulder felt great. So, that was a good test.’’
Really, it just validated his work ethic all offseason, trying to regain his shoulder strength while still rehabbing to return to the mound.
“He really hasn’t missed a beat,’’ Roberts said. “… Given where we’re at in spring training, I would not have thought he had surgery this offseason.’’
It’s almost unfathomable, Roberts says, that Ohtani not only looks the same, but that he shows absolutely no discomfort.
“That’s surprising,’’ Roberts said. “You’d think there’d be some residual soreness or pain or lack of strength. But he’s put in a lot of work, so it’s good to hear that.’’
Certainly, he looks the same to Kikuchi, 33, who’s three years older than Ohtani. He wonders if he’ll ever be able to figure out how to keep Ohtani in check. Ohtani is hitting .304 with a .739 slugging percentage and three homers in 23 at-bats against Kikuchi in the regular season.
“Just lucky,’’ Ohtani said, smiling.
Welcome to the club, where apparently Ohtani is lucky against every pitcher he faces, and rises to every big moment.
This may have been just a spring training game, but it certainly didn’t feel like one. There was a sellout crowd of 12,279 on hand at Camelback Ranch, with fans paying $180 just to get their first glimpse of Ohtani in 2025.
There were about 3,000 fans who started streaming into the Dodgers’ complex at 3:30 p.m., roaming the back fields, hoping to see the star attraction without resorting to the secondary ticket market.
Then, precisely at 4:52, Ohtani emerged from the indoor batting cage.
Fans started shrieking, racing towards the restraining fence to get a closer look at him, yelling out his name.
He ran onto a practice field, playing long toss to keep his arm loose, and nine minutes later, rushed back inside with fans pleading for him to stop for autographs.
Sorry, no time today, Ohtani had a game to play, his first of the spring, with John Sebastian singing “Welcome Back’’ over the loudspeakers.
Fans were kept entertained inside the stadium watching videos of Ohtani on the right-field scoreboard, with highlights of his magical 50-50 season shown. They were cheering as if this was the first time they saw them.
Ohtani, who had not faced an opposing pitcher since the World Series, took three practice swings and stepped to the plate against Kikuchi at 6:10 p.m., with fans chanting “M-V-P, M-V-P.’’
Ohtani took a first-pitch fastball for a strike. Watched a curveball for Ball 1. Swung and missed at a curveball for Strike 2. Took a curveball for Ball 2 and a low fastball for Ball 3.
Now, on a full count, Kikuchi threw a 94-mph fastball over the plate.
Ohtani sent it soaring over the left-field fence for an opposite-field homer.
“I threw a fastball down the middle,’’ Kikuchi said. “A player of his caliber, you can’t get away from that. So, he got me there.’’
The crowd gasped.
And then roared.
Ohtani, with a television audience watching live on NHK in Japan and on the Dodgers’ SportsNet, showed the world that he indeed is back.
He walked off the field at 7:33 p.m. with the crowd standing and cheering again, believing this could be his greatest season yet, not only hitting 50 homers, but dominating on the mound, too.
As the baseball world has learned, it’s silly to put any type of limit on Ohtani.
All of Japan is counting down the days until his celebrated return to Tokyo. Simply, it will be one of the most-hyped events in the country’s history.
“It’s going to be like the Beatles going there,’’ Dodgers president Lon Rosen said, laughing.
Only bigger.
“I think all of Japan,’’ Kikuchi said, “is pretty excited for that.’’
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This story has been updated with new information.
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