Do I hit it that hard? Ohtani was hit by the fastest ball of his life, 160.6km, and Roberts was intentionally enraged again this time

Jun 20, 2025

Do I hit it that hard? Ohtani was hit by the fastest ball of his life, 160.6km, and Roberts was intentionally enraged again this time
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani is hit on the back by Robert Suarez's 99.8-mile fastball in the bottom of the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on the 20th (Korea time). AP Yonhap News



Do I hit it that hard? Ohtani was hit by the fastest ball of his life, 160.6km, and Roberts was intentionally enraged again this time
Otani signals to his teammates that he's okay after being hit in the back by Suarez's 99.8-mile fastball. AFP Yonhap News
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani said his body and mind are all "OK" even after being hit by a 100-mile fastball.

Ohtani played as a leadoff in the final game of a four-game home series against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on the 20th (Korea time) and got on base with a hit ball at the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs and third base, trailing 2-5.

At the ball count 3B, right-hander Robert Suarez's 99.8-mile (160.6km) sinker flew to the high course of his body, and he turned around and hit the upper right back. Ohtani screamed a single word and headed to first base with a distorted expression. At this time, as his teammates seemed to jump out of the Dodgers dugout, Ohtani waved his left hand to his teammates and sent a signal of "Don't come out."




Do I hit it that hard? Ohtani was hit by the fastest ball of his life, 160.6km, and Roberts was intentionally enraged again this time
Otani is hit by Robert Suarez's ball in the bottom of the ninth inning. AFP Yonhap News
The game was a war of nerves that lasted until the moment of violence, with the two sides exchanging three dunes. The last scapegoat was Ohtani, but nothing happened in the end.

With San Diego leading 3-0 in the top of the seventh inning, the Dodgers replaced starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto with Rutrivino. Left-handed hitter Bryce Johnson at the plate. In a two-ball, Tribino's third 91.6-mile cutter hit Johnson in the left leg.

The second dune came one after the top of the ninth inning. Dodgers right-hander Jack Little threw a 93-mile fastball and hit the left arm of San Diego's flagship Fernando Tatis Jr. At this time, manager Silt ran out screaming at the Dodgers dugout on the other side. After seeing this, Roberts also ran out shouting, and the two clashed behind the home plate and had a verbal fight. It quickly spread to bench clearing and even pitchers in the bullpen joined. However, it did not lead to fist-bump violence. It was a drying atmosphere. It ended with Roberts being sent off.




Do I hit it that hard? Ohtani was hit by the fastest ball of his life, 160.6km, and Roberts was intentionally enraged again this time
Coach Dave Roberts and Mike Shildt run to the ground in the top of the ninth inning to argue over Fernando Tatis Jr.'s hit by Jack Little's ball. AP Yonhap News
And in the ninth inning, Suarez hit Ohtana's back with a fastball close to 100 miles. The objective view is that it's intentional.

Eric Carros, the commentator for SportsNetLA, is "Look. I was trying to get 100% of that ball, 100% of the time. I thought he was just going to give me a walk in a three-ball, but he provoked it. There's no argument," he said.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also said after the game "It was a very hard throw. I don't know how many left-handed hitters Suarez hit with fastballs, but it was definitely an intentional pitch." Of the five pitches Suarez gave up, three were hit by left-handed hitters to Ohtani, and all were fastballs.




Earlier, when Ohtani was hit in the lower part of his right thigh by Randy Vazquez's 93.8-mile fastball in the bottom of the third inning on the 18th, Roberts said "Intentional." At the time, Roberts was sent off for shouting and protesting at the opponent's bench.

The speed of the dune Ohtani hit on the day is the second fastest among the dunes this season. On April 18, Philadelphia Phillies Trey Turner hit Jordan Hicks' 100.9-mile sinker in the bottom of the second inning against the San Francisco Giants, recording the highest speed in the category.

Do I hit it that hard? Ohtani was hit by the fastest ball of his life, 160.6km, and Roberts was intentionally enraged again this time
Otani signals something toward the San Diego dugout right after hitting Suarez's ball in the bottom of the ninth inning. AFP Yonhap News
It was also the fastest ball ever hit by Ohtani. Julian Merriweather's 98.3-mile four-seam fastball in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 29, 2022, when he was with the Los Angeles Angels, was Ohtani's previous highest speed throw. However, at that time, the ball passed through the guard on Ohtani's right arm and was not shocked.

It is also the second fastest speed of the dunes Suarez has allowed so far. On September 28, 2022, the opponent was the Dodgers, and he once hit Mookie Betts on his left arm with a 100.6-mile fastball in the top of the seventh inning.

For reference, there have been a total of 61 dunes over 100 miles since 2008 when Statcast was introduced, and the highest arrest dune is a 104.3-mile sinker that Jordan Hicks hit AJ Pollock's left elbow in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 5, 2018, when he was in St. Louis Cardinals. No special incident happened because he was wearing a protective band.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.