In Tuesday’s game at Camelback Ranch versus his official team, the LA Angels, Shohei Ohtani saw three plate appearances. After going 0–3, the two-way standout who was playing DH was replaced by Trey Sweeney.
Ohtani left the Angels in free agency last year, but this game gave him the chance to get to know the lads.
Through his interpreter, Ohtani remarked, “We got to catch up with most of the boys because we had a lot of them here today.” “More than after I signed, I was thinking about the Angels during the whole free agency before I signed because they were in my mind and once I signed it was a done deal so I felt like we needed to turn the page and focus on the season with the Dodgers.”Ohtani also said that following the game, he got greetings from the Angels team. When questioned if he had a difficult time getting out of the club, Ohtani responded as follows:
“I wasn’t truly treated badly by them. They were pleased for me and there were many congrats.”
Ohtani also mentioned that he doesn’t feel uncomfortable when playing against the Angels.
Before the Seoul Series, Shohei Ohtani talks about his spring training with the Dodgers.
With eight games left in the Seoul Series against the San Diego Padres on March 20, Shohei Ohtani continued to discuss his spring training and his transition to the new season.
It’s a new perspective, but it’s been a long since I was a night owl. Thus, through the interpreter, I hope to be able to achieve that as well,” Ohtani stated. “I believe that at-bat quality is also getting better. I believe I’ll be able to play a little bit more than last time, which was a little disappointing.
He continued, saying:
I kind of got used to seeing with my eyes still during night games because that was the first one in a long, but I should have been there. That felt very good, my last at-bat. I was a little jammed, but all in all, I’m happy with the quality and outcomes of my at-bats thus far.”Ohtani told reporters that he will play against the White Sox tomorrow and that he is working to improve his timing so that he can have strong at-bats leading up to Opening Day.
In September 2023, the Japanese two-way sensation had Tommy John surgery. He is most likely going to be the team’s designated hitter and is not expected to pitch the entire season.