Home Baseball Dave Roberts of the Dodgers praises Shohei Ohtani for his ‘modesty’ and competitive nature throughout spring training

Dave Roberts of the Dodgers praises Shohei Ohtani for his ‘modesty’ and competitive nature throughout spring training

Baseball — 02/19/2024

With the greatest deal in professional sports history, Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million contract was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, sending shockwaves across Major League Baseball.

Shohei Ohtani won't play in Dodgers' spring training opener, stays away from live batting practice | WVNS

After failing to make it to the postseason in each of his first six MLB seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani signed with the Dodgers. That was in spite of the fact that the two-way standout won two American League MVP Awards and often put up unimaginable numbers during that time.

Why Shohei Ohtani is getting schedule leeway with Dodgers - Los Angeles Times

Ohtani had stated that winning a World Series is his top priority going into the free agency process. Now, he will assist in leading a Dodgers team that has advanced to the postseason 11 times in a row. Manager Dave Roberts commended Ohtani for his want to win and ability to maintain humility, according to Dylan Hernández of the Los Angeles Times:

Shohei Ohtani won't play in Dodgers' spring training opener, stays away from live batting practice

“There’s a lion in there,” Roberts added, praising Ohtani for his humility. “That’s the ideal combo for me,” the manager went on. I can’t wait to find out more about him. Even though Ohtani is the greatest baseball player in the world, he never boasts about his accomplishments and prefers to put his teammates’ talents front and center.

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Throughout his whole contract, the 29-year-old has demonstrated that he is a team player by committing to only make $2 million a season. In order for the Dodgers to continue adding great talent to their roster, Ohtani agreed to the historic deferrals. The squad signed players like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Teoscar Hernández, James Paxton, and Clayton Kershaw after acquiring Ohtani. Shohei Ohtani is “trending toward” starting for the Dodgers on Opening Day. Ohtani began hitting against a pitching machine at Camelback Ranch for Spring Training one of the first players to report, albeit not at full speed. He proceeded to the field for batting practice on Monday, smashing ten home runs in two sets of swings. Speaking through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani recently remarked, “I feel really good overall.” “I was getting some good results with a really strong bat swing.” Ohtani restated his expectation to start for the Dodgers in the starting lineup when the regular season kicks off in South Korea. He said, “I was going to swing on the lighter side, but it felt really good to be swinging, which is a really good sign.” “I believe that I will be prepared for Opening Day.”