Shohei Ohtani has made an interesting change with his pitching

Shohei Ohtani on Monday made his pitching debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he showed off an interesting change he has made.

Ohtani was pitching from a windup when nobody was on base during his start against the San Diego Padres. That’s in contrast to the style he used to use when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. Previously, since coming to MLB, Ohtani pitched exclusively from a stretch position, which is a more abridged version of a pitching motion and lacks a step and rock back that helps build momentum.

You can see that he has gone back to his windup, which he used to use in Japan. His new windup and motion involve his body moving smoother. By comparison, he would pause upon stepping back and again when raising his leg for the kick.

Shohei Ohtani, original NPB windup vs. new MLB windup

(He's never pitched with a full windup in MLB until now) pic.twitter.com/u8l0ohDfvM

— David Adler (@_dadler) June 17, 2025

This video is of his pitching highlights from MLB — all of which came while he was with the Angels. In the highlights, you can see Ohtani working from the stretch position.

Pitching from a stretch did not inhibit Ohtani’s performance. He averaged 96.8 miles per hour on his fastball in 2023 with the Angels, and went 38-19 with a 3.81 ERA in 482.2 innings with them.

In his lone inning with the Dodgers on Monday, Ohtani threw 28 pitches and averaged 99.1 mph on his fastball. He allowed one run on two hits.