Shohei Ohtani: “Witnessing True Power”…Shohei Ohtani: “I’ll Show You My Serious Pitching! This season will be the ultimate form of “let them hit and take it

He is nearing “perfection” as a pitcher.

Shohei Ohtani, 31, who finally opened his ninth season in the Majors on March 26 (Japan time), showed us a glimpse of this when he pitched in an open game. It gave a sense of foreboding.

In his first appearance in an open game against the Giants on March 19, Ohtani gave up one hit, four strikeouts, and no runs in five innings, showing no signs of a lack of adjustment as a pitcher, which had been a concern due to the WBC, and he seemed satisfied with his performance, saying, “It felt natural.

Ryota Igarashi, a baseball commentator, analyzed that “Otani’s pitching form this season has become more individualistic.

He seems to be putting more weight on his right foot and lowering his right shoulder before releasing. He is establishing a pitching personality that fans can imitate by saying, ‘This is Otani’s pitching form. The fact that he is showing a form that he feels comfortable throwing and a pitching style that is unique to Otani is a sign that he is approaching “perfection” as a pitcher. as a pitcher.

This is the first time in three years that Ohtani has had an off-day without rehab and has been named to the starting rotation since the season opener. Considering his smooth finish to the season, it is tempting to expect a Cy Young Award, his highest number of wins (16), and a single-game winning streak, and beyond that, a Cy Young Award.

The biggest challenge for Ohtani, who plays two sports, is the number of innings he pitches. The Cy Young Award is based on how many innings a pitcher has pitched, not just on his defensive rating and strikeout rate. Paul Skeens of the Pirates (23), who won the award in the National League last season, and Tarik Skubal of the Tigers (29), who won the award in the A League, both passed the 180-pitch mark,” said a reporter who covers the majors.

Ohtani’s most is 166, set in 1947. To win the honor of being the best pitcher, he needs to pitch more innings than that and perform better than ever.

To meet this challenge, Ohtani has expanded his pitching range since the second half of last season.

He said, “Early in the game, I’ll show some more splits, and late in the game, I’ll show more sweepers. In between, he pitches a braking curve, uses a high four-seamer and sinker, and is able to adapt his pitching to hitters.

He used to be a pitcher who pitched a style where he would try to get more and more strikeouts with his strong ball, but as his control has improved, he has gained the ability to get hitters to hit. He would let a batter hit a ground ball to pitch a long inning and strike out at the right time he wanted. It is going to be a season in which we can witness the true power of Ohtani as a pitcher,” said Igarashi.

As his performance in the WBC shows, his adjustment as a hitter is also going well. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (53) has already stated that Otani will be used in a dual role against the Guardians on April 1. Ohtani’s legendary season, in which he has reached his “ultimate form” as a pitcher, has finally begun.

From the April 10, 2026 issue of FRIDAY