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Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani’s first game with the Los Angeles Dodgers for spring training is postponed. He couldn’t practice hitting balls live on Sunday. Ohtani had his elbow surgery in September last year and will not pitch until 2025.
The team hopes that he will be ready to play as a designated hitter on March 20 for Opening Day in Seoul, South Korea. According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, the Japanese superstar will not play in the team’s spring training opener on Thursday, against the San Diego Padres.
“He’s a lot further along than I think any of us - maybe not named Shohei - would have expected,” said Roberts on Saturday, via Larry Lage of AP News. “He’s worked really hard, very diligent in his work, so he’s ahead of schedule.”
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“What that means as far as when he’s going to play in a Cactus League game, I don’t know the answer. But it just seems like every single day, he keeps (getting) better and feels real good.”
Roberts also said that despite Ohtani not playing on Thursday, he could appear in games ‘shortly thereafter,’ as reported by Jack Harris of the LA Times.
The 29-year-old will get more chances to bat for the Dodgers in the Cactus League. The team will still have 20 more games remaining even if Ohtani misses their first spring training game.
The two-time American League Most Valuable Player signed the largest sports contract in history with the Dodgers, which is worth $700 million for 10 years.
Dodgers' Mookie Betts shares impressions on Shohei Ohtani
LA Dodgers superstar infielder Mookie Betts recently talked about his teammate Shohei Ohtani, sharing his first thoughts about the Japanese superstar in a SportsNet LA interview.
“He’s super chill. He goes about his business, takes care of his business,” said Betts.
Betts said that the two haven’t had many opportunities to interact much. Even though Betts and Ohtani aren’t very close yet, they will have plenty of chances to bond during the upcoming season.
