Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has spent the 2020s doing what once seemed unimaginable, from recording the sport’s first 50-50 season to thriving as both a designated hitter and a starting pitcher.
Ohtani has somehow achieved another improbable feat in recent months: making us feel slightly sympathetic for a four-time MVP on a $700 million contract.
We’ve collectively become so spoiled by Ohtani’s greatness that anything even representing above-average play is borderline disappointing. Things were bad enough when a midseason knee injury forced the two-time champion to resume being a full-time DH rather than a two-way player. But he’s managed only a single RBI in his last 103 plate appearances, and the Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts even recently dropped him to fifth in the lineup.
Ohtani’s left knee and right biceps injuries are obviously significant roadblocks, but what if they’re only part of the problem?
Has Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani lost his confidence amid a prolonged slump?
You can have all the talent in the world, but it means nothing without the confidence to perform at a high level. We’ve tackled this before when discussing Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki, who has historically looked far more comfortable as a reliever than a starter.
For the first time in years, Ohtani isn’t playing like an unstoppable machine. He’s been humbled in a way we haven’t seen since the shortened 2020 campaign, when he combined for -0.4 bWAR as a hitter and pitcher. Things got so bad that the Angels ended his pitching season after two starts, not that they had much choice after he allowed seven runs and eight walks over 1.2 innings.
Roberts and the Dodgers aren’t fully sounding the alarm yet, though the organization has acknowledged he may have tried to do too much down the stretch. He went 2-for-14 in the NLDS but reached base twice in Sunday’s NLCS-opening loss to the Brewers.
“If he’s in the batter’s box, he’s still a threat,” Roberts told reporters ahead of Game 1. “He swung the bat well against [the Brewers] last postseason. Their memories — those pitchers, their memories are long. Now it’s just up to Shohei to understand that and control the strike zone.”
Even reading that makes us cringe, because Ohtani is all but assured of a Hall of Fame plaque. Yet his manager wants him to “understand” that pitchers don’t forget when players hit well off them, which is what you’d hear from a much younger, less experienced batter.
If that’s truly how Roberts feels, then what does that say about his confidence level in Ohtani? You likely wouldn’t hear Aaron Boone make those remarks about Aaron Judge, even if the Yankees’ dangerous slugger was battling through an extended slump. But that’s a credit to Roberts and another reason he’s been so successful; he’s never been afraid to call things as they are and publicly challenge his best players.
Ohtani’s reputation alone will keep him in the everyday lineup, and we’re skeptical Roberts would drop him below the No. 5 spot. But if things don’t turn around before the Dodgers’ season ends, then it might be time to raise the red flag about 2027 — and we’re not talking about a lockout.
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