Ohtani, who survived 708 days and returned, was the pitcher we knew
Aug 29, 2025
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Ohtani started the final game of the three consecutive home games against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium on the 28th (Korea time) and led the team to a 5-1 victory by allowing one run with powerful pitching to strike out nine in five innings.
Since returning to the mound against the San Diego Padres on June 17, he has filled five innings in 11 games, winning his first win since moving. It is the first time in 749 days that Ohtani became a winning pitcher since the game against the San Francisco Giants (three hits and one run in six innings) on August 10, 2023, when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.
The number of pitches was 87, the highest this season, and the fastball speed of 15 pitches was up to 100.3 miles and an average of 98.1 miles. On the day, he pitched mainly in breaking balls (23), sweeper (16), and splitter (11). In particular, he took away the timing of Cincinnati batters by controlling the speed of the curve in various ways from 74.7 to 84.0 miles.
It is an emotional day for Ohtani. ESPN responded, "'LA Dodgers pitching superstar returned from a second ligament joint surgery and filled five innings for the first time. His long and long rehabilitation of pitching has finally paid off,' he said.
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Until the early 1970s, damage to the UCL ended the pitcher's life, but since Dr. Frank Jove first performed the surgery in Tommy John in 1974, the rehabilitation success rate has increased, making it the most common and popular surgery since 2000.
Ohtani received his first TJS on October 2, 2018, during his time with the Los Angeles Angels, and his second on September 20, 2023. The lead surgeon was both Dr. Neal Elatrice at the Cullan-Jove Clinic in Los Angeles. He is the supreme authority of the TJS.
Still, receiving TJS twice is inevitably burdensome as a pitcher. This is because there are not many cases of successful rehabilitation after receiving the second TJS. Among the active pitchers are Texas Rangers Nathan Ivaldi and Chicago Cubs James Tyyon.
Moreover, Ohtani played only as a designated hitter last year and only rehabilitated as a pitcher, but injured his left shoulder while stealing second base in the second game of the World Series against the New York Yankees in October. Originally, his plan to join the rotation in time for the opening of this season went wrong, and he had to focus on rehabilitation until mid-June.
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It is a monumental day for Ohtani and the Dodgers. Manager Dave Roberts said after the game, `I'm really thrilled and pleased for Otani. Due to the number of pitches, he couldn't catch one out count and missed the opportunity to win. So I think today's victory is very encouraging to Ohtani" he said.
"I think we've passed a very important gateway to moving forward," Ohtani said"Our starters and bullpen are really good. I wanted to throw as long as I could to help the bullpen" expressed his feelings. In other words, he was sorry that he could not fill the 5th inning in the previous 10 appearances.
First of all, the Dodgers decided to put Ohtani's limit of five innings for the rest of the season. You don't have to throw six innings. The number of pitches is about 90. You have to protect your elbows. Ohtani, who has to stand on the mound after next year, agrees on this part.
At the same time, it plans to raise all the pitches it has to the highest level. If he focused on getting his fastballs ready in the early stages after returning, he is now focusing on breaking ball commands such as curves and sliders. The curve was effective against Cincinnati on the day. The fastball speed is consistently in the late 90s, and it also sprays up to 100 miles or more.
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After receiving his second TJS, Ohtani finally made it back to Otani 'Pitcher' after 708 days of being bored and boring. What's surprising is that in the meantime, Ohtani was named the MVP for the third time in his life, and he is likely to be the MVP again this year.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
