With the NFL over, it is officially baseball season. MLB teams started their Spring Training camps these past few days, with pitchers and catchers reporting to their franchises’ complexes in Arizona and Florida. Shohei Ohtani is obviously the main star.
Even if Ohtani is not going to pitch during the 2024 season, he reported early and is starting to make some swings for the first time in Dodger Blue, as he took his first batting practice of the Spring Training, and as usual, he can’t stop amazing us with his power with the bat.
Ohtani took a few swings in the batting cage, and according to MLB’s Instagram account, the Japanese phenom made 21 swings and homered in 10 of them, looking just fine with the bat in his hands even after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow.
Ohtani’s words after batting practice
After taking these swings, Ohtani spoke to The Athletic’s Fabián Ardaya and said that he felt ‘pretty good’ and he will be ready to go as soon as the season begins.
“I felt like the swings were feeling really good, which is a really good sign. I think it’s trending towards me being ready for Opening Day”
Shohei Ohtani’s first on-field BP as a Dodger and since his surgery 👀
(via @ByJackHarris) pic.twitter.com/zX7lhjILh6
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) February 12, 2024
This injury will prevent him from pitching until the 2025 season. Still, he is cleared to be a DH full-time, and he will be in the middle of a terrifying lineup alongside All-Star caliber teammates like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Max Muncy, to name a few.
