Shohei Ohtani's exploits have gotten more and more ridiculous in recent years. There are so many stat and accomplishments to point at in order to suggest he may be one of the best players to ever put on a uniform. Perhaps the most efficient way to convey just how unprecedented Ohtani is as a talent is to remind someone that he's founded two different 50-50 clubs over the past two years while leading his team to World Series crowns.
In 2024 he became the first player to ever hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a season. Last year he was the first to hit 50 home runs and strike out 50 batters.
Ohtani's return to the mound after suffering prolonged rehab after a 2023 UCL injury saw him start 14 games last season. The right-hander posted a 1-1 record with a 2.87 ERA and he struck out 62 in only 47 innings of work. It was just a little reminder of what he's capable of when holding the baseball, even if most people assume his days of logging anything anything like the 166 innings he totaled in 2022 are in the rearview mirror.
The two-way Dodgers star took advantage of the opportunity to remind opposing batters of how dominant he can be on Monday as he started the team's final spring tune-up agains the cross-town Angels.
All Ohtani did was to strike out 11 batters in four innings of work.
Shohei -- the pitcher -- looks ready to go!
— MLB (@MLB) March 25, 2026
11 strikeouts in 4+ innings for Ohtani 😤 pic.twitter.com/YocDJMLKgy
Earlier in spring training Ohtani reveled what type of workload he is targeting as the Dodgers go for a three-peat.
"I do see that as an important benchmark as a starting pitcher," Ohtani said. "Ideally in a situation where everybody makes 25 starts. That’s the ideal situation."
The Dodgers will open the season with some injuries to their pitching staff, meaning getting this type of electricity from Ohtani on the hill is of great importance. There is no reason to think he won't continue to do amazing stuff once the games start mattering. Or that he'll find a way to do a new amazing thing after that.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shohei Ohtani Squeezes In One Last Amazing Feat Before Opening Day.
