Dodgers’ players and staff divide over Shohei Ohtani’s poor interactions with the media

By
Abigail Hemsworth
-
media ohtani

 

Aside from the obvious language barrier, Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani is known for his lack of interaction with media outlets. He rarely agrees to do an interview and he also doesn’t like doing press conferences despite having a translator walking beside him at all times. But this new deal with Los Angeles Dodgers have turned these matters far more important because he is now a star at the level of Lionel Messi or LeBron James. Manager Dave Roberts and many veteran players on the team talked about the massive media interest that will change things for the team. If Ohtani attended press conferences or agreed to do interviews, perhaps some of the frustrated players wouldn’t be so angry at the media attention.

But Shohei Ohtani was barely seen speaking to the media or in public, he is currently recovering from a surgery he underwent at the end of 2023. His reputation of being anti social has followed him throughout his entire career. There really isn’t much anybody can do in order to convince him to be more open. New challenges will come for the Dodgers, who are trying to find a way to convince Ohtani that he needs to do more media appearances. Veteran Jason Heyward did mention that the media was partly to blame due to how invasive they can be. He said: “It’s harder (with Ohtani) if you guys make it harder.”

When will Ohtani return to activity?y

Fortunately, Ohtani did offer a media appearance on February 9 and spoke about his expectations for his first season with the Dodgers. After the surgery he went through, doctors have asked him to not play as a pitcher until 2025. That doesn’t mean Shohei Ohtani is not going to be the Dodgers’ designated batter. Shohei himself already told the media he is batting close to 100% effort. It iis confirmed he is aiming to be part of the team at the very start of the season as a batter.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR