Shohei Ohtani remains banged up, and the Los Angeles Dodgers star isn’t pretending a quick turnaround is coming before the team’s season reaches its end.
But recognizing the situation is not the same as giving in to it.
Ohtani said he believes he can continue playing despite lingering discomfort in his right arm and left knee. Rather than waiting for his body to feel perfect, he plans to adjust his swing and work around the restrictions he is facing.
“With some creativity, I think I can make up for what’s not right,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “Another way to say it is that it’s an opportunity to create new ways to compete.”
So the issue is not whether Ohtani is willing to push forward.
What’s unknown is whether what he said is even possible. What does he plan on doing, teach himself how to hit on one leg with one arm?
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Ohtani played on Monday for the first time in five days and was 0 for 3 with a walk in a 6-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium.
Striking out twice, he was about as non-threatening as he was the last time he played. Circling his forearm after fouling off a pitch in the seventh inning, he looked as physically compromised as he did last week.
Picturing this version of Ohtani as an offensive contributor in the playoffs feels unrealistic, but it’s not as if the Dodgers have a choice but to let him try to figure out something. Their offense isn’t the same when he’s not producing.
Besides, if anyone can do the unthinkable, it’s Ohtani, who became a two-way player in the major leagues when the odds were believed to be stacked against him.
He’s not afraid to fail, and he’s not ashamed when he does.
Which is why he said he didn’t regret his attempt to return to the mound this season, even though it’s almost certainly responsible for his diminished physical state.
“If there was a chance I could contribute on the pitching side, I think September was the time to throw with that goal in mind,” Ohtani said. “I think we went for it at the appropriate time.
“The result of that was a feeling that this season didn’t go well.”
Problems with his arm and knee kept from pitching after his start on July 3. But Ohtani did everything in his power to pitch again, and that probably cost him whatever chance he had of healing his arm and knee.
“For a pretty long time, it felt like there were times it got better and times it got worse,” Ohtani said. “I tried throwing, tried making adjustments, tried throwing live batting practice. When I raised the intensity, I felt the effects, and there were questions of whether I could contribute in the postseason. I think what the team didn’t want most was for me to push myself to where I couldn’t play as a hitter.”
When the Dodgers indicated they wanted him to abort his pitching comeback, Ohtani said, “I wanted to obey them.”
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Ohtani sounded at peace with the decision.
On the prospect of him pitching again this season, he said, “I think there’s almost no chance of that.”
Ohtani added, “Right now, I think I want to focus on offense.”
Breaking out of his slump might require him to do so.
Ohtani is six for his last 52. He has only one home run in his last 22 games played outside of Coors Field in high-altitude Denver.
“I don’t feel extremely uncomfortable,” he said. “I don’t feel I’m especially late.”
In his view, he’s just missing the ball.
“It’s just that when I think I’m squaring it up, it goes foul,” he said.
Ohtani didn’t blame his recent cold streak on his health, but he didn’t say his physical problems weren’t responsible for his decline in form, either.
Not feeling extremely uncomfortable doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel uncomfortable. Not feeling especially late doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel late.
Ohtani acknowledged he was concerned about his lead arm and back leg, and that he didn’t expect to feel healthy anytime soon.
“Just moving will, of course, slow down the recovery,” he said. “Whether it’s pitching or hitting, I think doing nothing and resting is the best.”
Ohtani didn’t plan on doing that, probably figuring that he was more likely to figure out how to perform with a broken-down body than he was to restore his health over the remainder of the regular season.
Rather than complain about the obstacles, Ohtani said he was in search of solutions.
“I think there are things that I’ve done until now that I’ll have to change,” he said.
He didn’t view himself as a lost cause.
“If I make adjustments,” he said, “I think my form will sufficiently improve.”