Shohei Ohtani entered MLB prior to 2018 as a two-way player who was hyped for his ability to throw nearly 100 mph as a pitcher and hit some dingers as a batter. Now in his third season, he’s had injuries as a pitcher, and surprising success as a hitter.
Despite the injuries, Ohtani is not ready to give up the dream of playing both ways.
Ohtani spoke with the media on Wednesday, two days after the Los Angeles Angels announced he would be unable to throw for 4-6 weeks due to a forearm strain. The 26-year-old missed all of last season as a pitcher while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and only made two pitching appearances this year before getting hurt.
Ohtani said he would listen if the Angels asked him to give up one or the other, but they haven’t yet, and he’s not planning to change his dreams either.
Ohtani just added that his goal right now is to finish the season as a hitter and then get back on the mound. Obviously he hasn’t been told to just pick one.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 6, 2020
Ohtani will continue to serve as a batter this season while his arm recovers. That will give both him and the Angels some time to see whether he will continue to pursue both. The Angels would probably want to give him another full offseason to recover and let him try to do both next year before scrapping the notion of trying both.
