LOS ANGELES, CA — Well, well, well, finally, and with great fanfare, the baseball industry was welcomed back to getting to see Shohei Ohtani pitch. It has been 664 days since he last took the mound in a Major League game—August 23, 2023, to be exact. And talk about being thrown into the fire pit; his first start back comes against the powerful hitting San Diego Padres. Even if it is for only one inning, the mere presence of him toeing the rubber in Dodger Stadium in a Dodger uniform and batting in the same game will send shivers down the spines of the mortals who must compete with him.
Image Credit: MLB
Given that it’s Hollywood and a sold-out crowd of 53,207 was in attendance, shouldn’t the new Superman movie premiered Monday night instead of July 11?
Seriously, now, like Babe Ruth, Ohtani is an outstanding pitcher and powerful hitter. He has a path to the Hall of Fame one day, and like Ruth, everyone loves him. He is the only true “Two-Way” player since Ruth. What happened Monday night for good or bad should not be judged as anything other than a pitcher who is working his way back from elbow surgery approximately 22 months ago.
His one inning showed two things: he was throwing 98-100mph fastballs and 86-89 sweepers but had a lack of command and control which was expected. Through team interpreter Will Ireton, Ohtani said: “I was aiming to sit 95-96, but the game intensity really allowed me to throw a little harder.”
Overall, it was not bad for someone who hasn’t pitched in 22 months and we see the velocity is exactly where it was before his injury. He left with a line of 1 inning pitched, two hits, and one run that was earned. He threw 28 pitches, 16 for strikes.
The Padres starter, Dylan Cease, came out blazing as he struck out the first five batters he faced, all on swings. He continued to stifle the Dodger lineup until the bottom of the fourth inning. That is when the Dodger lineup came alive. They would hit everything Cease threw at them. 99-100mph fastballs, sliders, and curve balls. LA would send ten men to the plate, scoring five runs on six hits.
The Dodgers would use seven pitchers tonight and the bullpen would allow two runs on three hits as they shut the powerful Padres down and took the first game of this four-game series 6-3.
Image Credit: Emma Sharon/Latino Sports
But the big show was Shohei. It is the first time I can remember Dodger Stadium almost filled before the first inning, other than the World Series.
Ohtani said in the postgame: “I’m just really grateful, reflecting back on all the support that I received from the doctors that operated on me, the support staff, the team and everybody who supported me along the way, I’m just grateful that, aside from the results, to be able to show and be grateful for the moment I had today.”
And he is only getting started people.
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