Shohei Ohtani “Two-faced” starts for the best season in his history! A “glimpse of the seriousness” shown in Arizona

Determination to make it to the bullpen on the first day of practice

A painful blood blister on the palm of his right hand expresses the determination of Shohei Ohtani, 31, for this season (first photo).

On February 14 (Japan Standard Time), the Dodgers started their battery camp in Arizona. Otani, who is expected to play a dual role from the start of the season, was in the bullpen from the first day and threw 27 pitches, including a four-seamer, two-seamer, splits, and sweeper, against regular catcher Will Smith (30).

As he commented, “I’m throwing with good intensity, so I think I’m doing well.” It seems that he was looking forward to the arrival of his first injury- and rehab-free ball spring in three years. Such ″changes″ in Ohtani have been felt by the local media. The first thing I felt was that the Dodgers were more interested in him than they are in other years.

The first thing I noticed was that he showed more smiles than in previous years. The year before last was his first year with the Dodgers, and last year he was undergoing careful rehabilitation in preparation for his return to pitching, but this year’s season is free of such uncertainties. My personal life has become more fulfilling, and I have successfully made my return to pitching. I think the change in my facial expression reflects the fact that my various worries have been resolved.

It is believed that Otani will avoid pitching in the WBC in March as a full-time DH. He will save his strong arm until the start of the regular season and is seriously aiming to win the Cy Young Award, the highest honor for pitchers that he has yet to win in the eight years he has spent in the Majors.

In an interview on the first day of camp, he said, “Of course it would be great if I could win it (the Cy Young Award), and to be in that neighborhood means that I’ve pitched that many innings. If I can go around for a year in good health,” he said.

Last year I pitched 67 innings, but if I am going to win the Cy Young Award, I will have to pitch far more innings than that. This will be even more of a burden than last season for Ohtani, who also aims to play a full season as a hitter. Even so, Otani is the type of player who would never use his two-faced approach as a reason to reduce his pitching numbers, so I think there is a good chance that he will achieve his goal.

The competition for the Cy Young Award in the National League is fierce. Paul Skeens (Pirates 23), who won the Cy Young Award last year, recorded 216 strikeouts and a 1.97 earned run average in 187 innings pitched. In other words, in order for Ohtani to win the award this season, he would have to pitch around 180 innings, strike out over 200, and achieve an astounding performance goal of less than a 2.00 earned run average. Teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto (27), who was lionized in last year’s World Series and won the MVP award, will be a strong competitor.

From his pitching on the first day, I felt he was in the best condition for the challenge compared to previous years. If he is in this condition, we can expect him to hit 50 homers and win 10 games.

As of February 17, there was no public footage of free hitting outdoors, but it was obvious from Ohtani’s right hand that he had been swinging thoroughly before the start of camp. There is no doubt that Otani’s 2014 season will be the best ever for the two-tooled hitter, as he puts in a lot of blood-soaked effort.

From the March 6, 2026 issue of FRIDAY