LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani met the cameras on Sunday evening as the Dodgers stand three wins away from their ultimate goal. He had praise for a teammate, a clear plan for himself, and a small smile when Toronto fans’ razzing came up.
First, he started with his teammate. “He was truly outstanding,” Ohtani said of Yoshinobu Yamamoto‘s complete-game performance on Saturday. “Against a great lineup, he pitched like that. As a teammate, that was so like him.” He added that performances like Yamamoto’s require equal parts stuff and intention. “When you throw to a lineup that good, you have to show your best,” he said. “While preparing for the opponent, I want to prioritize my own condition first.”
The pitch everyone wanted to ask about was the splitter, suddenly a headline pitch around this World Series. Ohtani explained his philosophy on the pitch, which is the least of his arsenal in terms of usage. “I don’t think the splitter alone is the key,” he said. “The most important thing is the mix with the other pitches, and the spot where you throw them. That pitch isn’t the only one that works.” Later, with Japanese reporters, he explained why that pitch has sharpened as October has gone on. “In the rehab process, the splitter had the lowest priority. It’s important inside my pitching, but it was the last pitch to adjust,” he said. “I was able to get it ready in time and make the adjustments. Early on, the splitters I threw were still in the trial stage and not very precise.”
His own at-bats have been a talking point this week. Dave Roberts has asked for more from the group in big spots; Ohtani took that in stride. “I feel my condition is coming up little by little,” he said. “Every time I try to have a good plate appearance. The pitchers we face are excellent, so it won’t always go the way you want. I value the preparation, the mindset before stepping in, and I want to treat each at-bat as important.” Outdoor work helps him check those boxes. “The main purpose is feeling my swing and the quality of the ball flight,” he said about taking batting practice on the field. “From the feel of the contact, I can tell if I’m set up correctly and swinging correctly. You can’t really get that inside. I also want to confirm how the visuals look.”
There was also a lighter moment about the noise in Toronto. Ohtani said he heard the chants (“WE DON’T NEED YOU” from the Rogers Centre faithful), and even shared that his wife loved them. “I heard them,” he said, smiling. “Basically I can hear it, but I’m focused, so it doesn’t bother me.” Back in Los Angeles with the Series tied, he framed Monday as a restart. “What’s finished is finished,” he said. “I think we should switch over and approach it like the home opener of a three-game set.”
Ohtani was asked to look backward and forward in the same breath. Last October, he could only hit while dealing with a shoulder injury. This year is different. “Last year I wasn’t in a situation where I could fully focus on the Series,” he said. “Including my elbow and shoulder, I’m healthy now and grateful to play. I’m thankful to still be here at the end, to be playing in the World Series.” That gratitude reaches his off-field life. He laughed about keeping things calm at home. “I’ve been able to relax when I go home,” he said. “At home I’ll try not to have the kind of ‘chants’ they said in Toronto,” he joked, circling back to the previous question.
Kids trying to play both ways came up, as it often does with him. He gave a word of encouragement to any potential little Shoheis out there. “If there are players who want to do it, there’s no need to give up,” he said. “You can go as far as you want depending on motivation and effort. I support them.” He was also asked who he watched growing up. “I watched a lot of games, especially when Japanese players were involved,” he said. “I saw Ichiro a lot, so I think I had that kind of admiration.”
As for pitching feel, Ohtani said the mechanics and the mindset have come together in a way that feels clean. “I’m throwing without anxiety now, that’s the biggest difference,” he said. “In 2022 and 2023 there were times I threw with a sense that something wasn’t right. Right now, my body is following what I want to do.” The postseason schedule changes how he builds the day. “There were more off days,” he said of October. “You have to manage the total volume. Swings during the game and total swings in a day need to be controlled. Outside work can become more stressful than you think, so that’s different from the regular season.”
Ohtani also circled back to the Blue Jays after watching the first two games from the batter’s box and the dugout. What did he see that he can use? He went back to fundamentals. “First, I want to create a situation where I can show a high performance within what I have,” he said. “Within that, I’ll follow the analysis of the opponent and make countermeasures.” And on Yamamoto’s back-to-back complete games, he didn’t hesitate. “Even in the regular season, a complete game is difficult,” he said. “Doing it twice in a row in the postseason, with higher opponent level and more pressure, is not something you can easily do. It’s very reassuring. From the offense side, you want to support him quickly.”
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