As Shohei Ohtani struggles as the Los Angeles Dodgers' lead-off hitter, fans around the league have been wondering what's got the reigning and defending MLB MVP in such a slump.
Is Ohtani fatigued, playing in his first post-season campaign in the majors? Or maybe he's suffered some sort of injury that no one is aware of? Well, according to Ken Rosenthal on the Fox broadcast, it simply comes down to facing more challenging competition, both in terms of teams and pitchers.
“Joe, by now, you've probably seen the stat; Shohei Ohtani is 0-19 with the bases empty, 6-8 with runners on. It's interesting but nothing more than a baseball oddity,” Rosenthal noted. “The real issue, as Ohtani said yesterday, is that hitting is more difficult in October, when teams face better opponents and their best pitchers. In Ohtani's case, we're talking a Yu Darvish, Sean Manaea, Tanner Scott, and others. Tonight, he's up against Luis Severino, a righty he's hit well in the past. It seems inevitable that at some point, Ohtani's results will start to turn.”
Is this the toughest few weeks of baseballing Ohtani has ever faced? More likely than not, yes, but that doesn't mean he's going to change things up, or worse, move down the lineup, as the pride of Oshu, Japan still believes he can contribute to his team.
Shoei Ohtani is feeling good physically for the Dodgers
Discussing his approach as a lead-off batter with the Dodgers and if he is suffering through any sort of issues that could limit his effectiveness as a slugger with reporters on Tuesday, Ohtani, through his interpreter, let it be known that he isn't concerned with the results, as his process has been sound.
“Regardless of however they are pitching to me, my plan is to stay with the same approach, as much as possible and not really be too focused on how they attack me… If I'm feeling good and the results aren't there, then I'm not too concerned because there's luck involved,” Ohtani told reporters via ESPN.
Related Los Angeles Dodgers NewsArticle continues below
“If there's a situation where I don't feel good at the plate and I'm not doing well, or it's not leading to good results, then it's something that I look into to make sure physically, mechanically, making sure that that's all fine-tuned. I do feel OK at the plate. I do feel like I should recall back to the times when I feel good and perhaps incorporate that into it.”
Unfortunately for Ohtani, every time he comes up to bat, the opposing team, be it the San Diego Padres or the New York Mets, have a plan for his at-bat, as they will almost never give him an “easy” ball to smash out of the park. While he should still try to get on base more often, as his 51-51 season proved he's a serious force as an on-base pick-pocket, for now, the Dodgers have to hope he gets a few good pitches and “Showtime” can capitalize on them.
