LOS ANGELES —
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Ohtani said he knew the Dodgers’ franchise record for most homers in a season was 49. His previous best was 46, set in 2021.
“I kind of wanted to get over that bar,” he said. “I was pleasantly surprised I was able to pass that record.”
Ohtani carried the Dodgers offensively during the regular season, and he stayed healthy until Game 2 of the World Series. He injured his left shoulder trying to steal second base against the New York Yankees and finished the Series playing hurt.
He underwent surgery a few days after the Dodgers celebrated their championship in early November.
“I don’t have full range of motion yet, but it feels a lot better,” he told the AP. “There’s no pain. There’s obviously still a little bit of tightness, but slowly but surely it’s getting better.”
Ohtani recently received an updated rehab schedule, and he’s focused on the near-term.
“It’s the small steps that I think are very important to get me to the ultimate goal, which is to just get back healthy,” he said.
Ohtani is also throwing in the 70 mph range, which is typical for pitchers early in the offseason.
“I’m going to continue to ramp up slowly,” he said.
The Dodgers’ rotation for next season is in flux, and Ohtani is waiting to see how it shakes out.
“We may go with a five-man rotation with a bullpen [game], which is what we did a lot during this season or we may have a six-man rotation,” he said. “But it’s all about balancing out when we can get rest and recuperate. We’ll see where that takes us along the playoff chase. I’ve got to obviously pace myself, but again that situation will guide us to how we get there.”
The Dodgers open the 2025 season in Japan, where Ohtani is even more closely watched.
“My personal goal is to be fully healthy by the time the opening games do start,” he said. “To be able to pitch and hit would be great, but the situation will kind of guide itself.”
Each time Ohtani comes to the plate or steps on the mound, there’s great pressure and expectation for him to perform spectacular feats.
“I just go out there and try to stay within myself,” he said. “I can only control what I can control and that’s where you trust your teammates. The guys behind me, you trust they’re going to make the plays for you. I don’t really try to overthink it.”
Ohtani generated big bucks for the Dodgers off the field, too.
Fans traveled from Japan in droves to see him play around the U.S. At Dodger Stadium, and they paid extra for tours of baseball’s third-oldest venue narrated by Japanese-speaking guides and to be on the field during pregame batting practice. A majority of the fans bought Ohtani-branded merchandise, especially his No. 17 jersey.
Ohtani’s presence also helped the Dodgers land a bevy of new Japanese sponsors.
Because Ohtani prefers to speak Japanese and use an interpreter with the media, he is shrouded in a bit of mystique. Asked before his first postgame series if he was nervous, he dropped a one-word answer in English: “Nope,” which drew laughter.
Japanese-born Dodgers manager Dave Roberts observed Ohtani’s behind-the-scenes interactions with his teammates, coaches and staff, and came away impressed.
“I really do believe that as good of a ballplayer as he is, he’s a much better person. He’s very kind, considerate, he cares,” Roberts told the AP. “I’m just proud of any fame or glory or award that he receives because he just does it in such a respectful and humble way.”
Ohtani relishes his privacy and rarely shares details about himself off the field. That’s why his February announcement via Instagram that he had wed Mamiko Tanaka, a former basketball player, stunned his new teammates and the rest of the world.
The following month, after the Dodgers arrived in South Korea to open the season, he was enveloped in scandal when his longtime interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired by the Dodgers after being accused of using millions of dollars of Ohtani’s money to place bets with an illegal bookmaker.
His new teammates rallied around Ohtani, who was found to have no part in the wrongdoing, and publicly it didn’t seem to affect him even if he was privately distressed by it.
By June, the uproar had subsided. Mizuhara pleaded guilty to federal bank and tax fraud charges and admitted to stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani.
The public got a glimpse of Ohtani’s softer side in August, when his dog Decoy delivered a first pitch to his owner on their shared bobblehead night. The Nederlandse Kooikerhondje exchanged an endearing high-five with Ohtani at the plate.
As a result, Decoy became a celebrity in his own right, with his breed (pronounced COY-ker-HUND-che) making the list of the most mispronounced words of 2024. He and Ohtani were mentioned during the telecast of last month’s National Dog Show, where the small spaniel-type breed was among the competitors.
“The number of the breed has kind of dwindled, so by him gaining a little bit of popularity hopefully that brings up the number of his breed,” Ohtani said. “I do feel like we were able to, in a small way, contribute to the popularity of the dog and I’m sure Decoy himself would be happy about that.”
Ohtani will be looking to top himself next year while eyeing a repeat World Series title.
“It’s almost like right now you can lock in the Most Valuable Player in the National League award because no one has that ability or talent,” Roberts said.
“I’m just excited to see what ’25 has for Shohei Ohtani.”
