MINNEAPOLIS — As the Dodgers get to know Shohei Ohtani in his first months with the club, evaluations from coaches and officials often center around how Ohtani moves rather than what comes out of his mouth.
He charts every swing in the cage on video and leans on data analysis from the club’s HitTrax monitor and a Blast Motion sensor on the handle. Gradually, the $700 million man has opened up with conversations on hitting philosophy. Then there are moments like Sunday when Ohtani revealed the depths of his creativity.
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As Sunday’s rain delay at Wrigley Field bordered on three hours, the two-time MVP got curious. The batting cage in the 110-year-old park offered a reprieve from the deluge and allowed Ohtani to reach into a bag of tricks.
Ohtani rummaged through the hitting coaches’ equipment bag, emerging with a hybrid that had the handle of his typical bat but the wider, flatter barrel of a cricket bat. He then placed a baseball on a tee and began taking swings. The idea was to emphasize his bat path, keeping a flatter swing through the zone for longer to maximize his thunderous finish. Quickly, the designated hitter took a liking to it.
“Everyone was delirious at that point when it’s a rain delay, kind of messing around and stuff,” Dodgers hitting coach Aaron Bates said. “And then I think all the guys started using it after he did.”
Shohei Ohtani roped a 110 mph double to center in his first AB that Byron Buxton couldn't even track down.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) April 8, 2024
It’s hardly been a sticky wicket. After striking out and popping out in his first two at-bats before the rain delay in Sunday’s 8-1 loss to the Cubs, Ohtani returned to the field and roped a triple and a double. In his first at-bat Monday against the Twins, he walloped a 110.1 mph double that cleared Gold Glover Byron Buxton in center field.
“It led to pretty good results so I’ll continue to do that,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton, chuckling as he made the cricket bat revelation.
“He’s divulging some secrets,” manager Dave Roberts said with a laugh of his own.
Then again, Ohtani’s bat has come to life. His first home run in a Dodgers uniform, on April 3, freed him up, he conceded. Roberts speculated it could be a “spark,” and proved correct.
Ohtani finished Monday with 3-for-5 with two doubles and a homer, a night when James Outman also credited the cricket bat for his go-ahead homer in the Dodgers’ 4-2 win.
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His timing has locked into place. Quickly, Bates noted, opposing pitchers couldn’t try to attack him in the same spot twice. Fastballs were timed up. And the eye-popping exit velocities — a constant even during his somewhat sluggish start — became all the more consistent. After going 8-for-33 with just three doubles in his first eight games, Ohtani is 11-for-22 with eight extra-base hits since.
“With hitters, it clicks for them sometimes, and when it clicks for them, they’re dangerous,” Bates said.
The Dodgers invested in “dangerous,” and have been eager to discover the methods of their latest superstar. They are hopeful that the conversations will go deeper as he grows more comfortable with his new surroundings.
“I think each day we’re learning more,” Roberts said. “I think each day he’s becoming more comfortable. He’s laughing a ton. He’s asking questions.”
And Ohtani is still settling into a life without the man who has effectively served as his shadow since he was a teen. Ohtani has yet to answer the major questions remaining in the investigation into his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. The two-way star claimed last month that Mizuhara stole at least $4.5 million to cover gambling debts to an alleged illegal bookie. Mizuhara was a central figure in Ohtani’s life, with his responsibilities going far beyond what is typical for someone in the role.
Settling into this new reality hasn’t been much of an interruption, Ohtani said. Much of his life away from the ballpark has been spent either at home or in a hotel on the road, save for an outing on Saturday to the popular restaurant Chicago Kalbi (a place frequented by former Cubs and current Padres right-hander Yu Darvish) to celebrate Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s first major-league victory.
“Regardless of whatever happens off the field, my ability to be able to play baseball hasn’t changed,” Ohtani said. “It is my job to make sure that I play to the best of my abilities.”
(Photo of Shohei Ohtani: Jesse Johnson / USA Today)
