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Shohei Ohtani can just do whatever he wants on the baseball field.
Hit 50 home runs? Sure. Steal 50 bases? You understood it. Both in the same season? Sounds good.
Lead the majors in earned performance average? If you say so.
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Shohei Ohtani pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vásquez/Imagn Images)
The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star is certainly not living up to the expectations he has set for himself, with a career OPS of .951, an OPS over 1.000 in three consecutive years and hitting 54 and 55 home runs in each of the last two seasons, respectively.
It’s been a down year so far at the plate for Ohtani, who is hitting .240 with a .796 OPS. Not including the truncated 2020 season, those would be the lowest marks of his career.
But he’s definitely making up for it on the mound.
After posting seven scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, Ohtani is now pitching to an MLB-best 0.82 ERA.
Ohtani has allowed just four earned runs on the season, half of which came earlier this month against a solid Houston Astros offense, in 44.0 innings pitched.
Shohei Ohtani pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vásquez/Imagn Images)
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“(The) ideal situation is to be excellent on both sides of the ball,” Ohtani said after his gem in the Dodgers’ 4-0 victory over their NL West rivals, via The Athletic. “But the way I look at it, if I’m not contributing offensively, then I know I can contribute on the pitching side and vice versa. So I take it that way.”
“He wants to be the best pitcher in baseball and he’s doing it right now,” manager Dave Roberts added. “You can tell that he is very focused on the preparation part and then, obviously, in the days he begins, on the execution.”
Ohtani did not pitch in 2024 and returned to the mound last summer, pitching to a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts amid his 1.014 OPS, good for his fourth MVP in the last five seasons.
The Dodgers have been careful with Ohtani’s workload, sometimes keeping him as a pitcher only this season, as it’s well known that his offensive numbers take a hit when he’s on the mound, understandably so.
“It’s interesting because last year there was a lot of talk that I shouldn’t pitch and just be a hitter,” Roberts said. “Now, he’s kind of flipped. I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind, but I feel clear about how we’re handling it. There’s no one way to do it. You’re just trying to be fluid, and react and respond to how he feels.”
But at least the Dodgers currently have the best pitcher in baseball this season at the top of their lineup. It’s like the pre-designated hitter era, except the pitcher bats first instead of ninth.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani throws a pitch in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vásquez/Imagn Images)
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And it shouldn’t surprise anyone if and when Ohtani finds the bat as he continues to knock down everyone he comes within 60 feet, 6 inches of.
