“No way” could become a reality. Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who declared that he would not throw as a pitcher this year, could make a surprise appearance in the postseason. 토토사이트
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in an interview with MLB Network radio SiriusXM on the 14th (Korean food) that Ohtani’s postseason appearance should be left open for some possibility. “I think it’s a pretty good thing that things need to go that way, and that every situation, including the game and Ohtani’s physical condition, makes sense. It sounds plausible,” he said.
“It is unreasonable to assume that Otani will definitely take the mound during the playoffs. However, the prospect that Otani will be able to take the mound is a great step forward for our team, which has suffered a series of injuries to pitchers,” he added.
Ohtani had surgery on his right elbow in September last year. Dr. Neal Elatrice, who conducted the surgery at the time, did not use the word “TOMIZON SURJERI” (TJS), but most local media reported that “Ohtani received the second TJS in his life in five years after the fall of 2018.” Since the surgery takes one to one and a half years to rehabilitate, it was considered physically impossible for Ohtani to take the mound this year.
This is why all the staff including Dr. Elatrice, Roberts and the Dodgers training part emphasized that Ohtani will take rest as a pitcher this year. The Dodgers still shake their heads at Ohtani’s postseason appearance.
However, Ohtani has been recovering from pitching rehabilitation smoothly even though he spent his career high season as a batter this year. He started to touch the ball since April, and threw a bullpen session for the first time since his surgery at Dodger Stadium on April 25. He is also planning to throw live pitching by standing batters soon. For this reason, some predict that Ohtani may take the mound when he starts pitching in fall baseball.
In an article titled “Will Otani throw a bullpen pitcher during the playoffs? Is there a reason why he can’t?” the LA Times said the previous day, “Otani’s pitching rehabilitation will soon end. It will be time for him to return as a pitcher and face an inning in which he needs to win the fall baseball series and three out-counts for the winning ring,” adding, “It is difficult as a starting pitcher, but he can do three out-counts in one inning.” There was also a moment of glory when he struck out Mike Trout and won the WBC in March last year. “I have a chance to win the World Series, but do you want to just leave $700 million on the bench to save him for the 10-year contract?”
“If you’re writing a movie script or a novel, it’s not difficult to throw the last ball after rehabilitation,” Roberts said in an interview with the media on the previous day. “Realistically, if there is a problem, he has not thrown the ball in a tense situation this year. If he is going to get into trouble by putting him on the mound, there is no need to risk potential injury. You shouldn’t stress him by pitching in one inning,” he said negatively.
However, in just one day, he sent a positive sign, saying, “Shohei is preparing. We will continue to monitor his rehabilitation process and will not block him from throwing in the postseason at all. Let’s wait and see.”
If Ohtani achieves 50 homers and 50 steals for the first time in Major League history in the regular season and takes the mound in the post season to make a critical pitching decision, he will create another “myth” of pitching and hitting. Ohtani, who has 47 homers and 48 steals, will continue his hunt for a milestone in seven consecutive away games against the Atlanta Braves and the Miami Marlins from July 14 to 20.