"Start being a pitcher, you won’t steal the base" – CEO of Nippon-Ham Fighters on the challenges Shohei Ohtani faces in his two-way journey

Shohei Ohtani is the only true two-way player in MLB today. The slugger has hit and pitched for most of his time in the league except last season. After a Tommy John surgery in 2023, Ohtani was relegated to purely hitting in 2024.

The LA Dodgers star established the 50-homer, 50-steal club. No one in baseball history had done that. It was a historic year and it may have partly been due to Ohtani's inability to pitch.

Hideki Kuriyama, the CEO of Nippon Ham Fighters, was Ohtani's manager during his time with that team. He talked about on what Ohtani can do next season.

"He's injured, and he still has homework to do, including making a comeback as a pitcher next year," Kuriyama said on Sunday, via Yahoo! Sports.

"I guess it's like fate, or destiny, for him. So the baseball gods will never let him relax, and everyone may think that he won't steal bases once he starts pitching, 'If you start being the pitcher, you won't steal the base,' but he might steal even more bases. He's a player who goes beyond what people think he's like. I'm looking forward to seeing what he'll do."

Being unable to pitch allowed Ohtani to fully focus on offense. He didn't need to preserve his body for the mound like he needed to in years past, which allowed him to run wild on the bases. Despite the odds stacked against him, Kuriyama isn't discounting Ohtani yet.

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Shohei Ohtani reflects on pitching future

The next time Shohei Ohtani gets on an MLB mound to pitch, he will have returned from his second Tommy John surgery. Only a few have successfully done that and even fewer have survived a third such elbow injury.

Shohei Ohtani didn't pitch in 2024 (Imagn)

Ohtani said via Yahoo! Sports that he doesn't foresee coming back to pitching if that happens to him again.

"I'll be going from mid-level to veteran in 2021," Ohtani said on Sunday. "When the opportunity to have another surgery comes, it's not realistic to have to rehabilitate for another year and a half. When I think about it that way, I feel like this might be my last chance."

This is why the Dodgers didn't let Ohtani pitch last year. Despite the potential need arising in the World Series, they refused so that they could prioritize his long-term health and get him back on the mound later.