sports
Shohei Ohtani is currently recovering from elbow surgery in an effort to return to the pitcher’s mound, which coudl possibly happen sometime in May. In addition, he underwent surgery on his non-throwing shoulder during the offseason after sustaining an injury in the World Series.
The three-time MVP has a flair for the dramatic throughout his career, so anyone surprised by him hitting a home run in his first spring training at-bat post-shoulder surgery must have been living under a rock. Here it is indeed, a beautiful opposite-field shot on a 3-2 count:
This was not Ohtani’s initial swing of the spring; he missed on a curveball thrown by Yusei Kikuchi earlier during that at-bat. Still,as he frequently enough does,Ohtani managed to come out on top.
Remember,last year he also hit a home run in his first spring at-bat.
His achievements are not limited to trivial games either; he now boasts a World Series ring along with those three MVP awards. Last season,he posted extraordinary stats of .310/.390/.646 (190 OPS+) with 38 doubles, seven triples, 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, 134 runs scored, 59 stolen bases and an outstanding 9.2 WAR as a full-time designated hitter.
The only uncertainties surrounding Ohtani as the season approaches were regarding how well he’d recover from shoulder surgery and when he’d be ready to return to pitching during the regular season. It already seems that any concerns about his shoulder can be put to rest.
