LOS ANGELES (AP) After the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series last month, Shohei Ohtani underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder. He is still in the early phases of his recovery.
The Japanese player, who won his third Most Valuable Player award—his first with the Dodgers—said in Los Angeles on Thursday, “We’ve already taken the stitches out.” Restoring my range of motion is the present objective. We began working on core today, and we’re currently scaling it gradually.
Four days after he and the team walked through downtown Los Angeles and celebrated with Dodger Stadium supporters, Ohtani underwent surgery on November 5.
Through a translator, he stated, “We’ve been stuck in rehab every day, and I’ve been sitting on my bed relaxing.” As a family, we haven’t been able to spend some time celebrating.
Due to his recuperation from elbow surgery in September 2023, Ohtani did not pitch this season. In Game 2 of the World Series, he hurt his shoulder trying to steal second base.
He stated, “We are kind of taking our time, but the goal is to be ready for opening day, which includes hitting and pitching.” Naturally, I want to ensure my health first. We won’t hurry things along. We’re going to be cautious and take a little longer.
Ohtani’s performance wasn’t the most worrying aspect of his outstanding first regular season with the Dodgers.
It had to do with Decoy, his cherished dog.
When we had Decoy throw out the pitch, it was the most nerve-racking game, he remarked.
Similar like his owner, Decoy did a faultless performance that August evening, trotting from the mound to pass the ball in his mouth to Ohtani, who was waiting behind the plate. Later, on his second bobblehead night, Ohtani hit a home run in the opening innings against Baltimore.
They were together on Thursday when Ohtani, seated next to his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, talked about his MVP award as the Dutch Kooikerhondje made a brief appearance on television. He described it as quite humble.
The 30-year-old designated hitter became the first player to win MVP three times with unanimous votes, taking all 30 of the Baseball Writers Association’s first-place votes. With the Los Angeles Angels, he had two AL victories.
Through an interpreter, Ohtani stated, “It will encourage me even more to keep helping the team win next year.” Our goal is to keep winning the World Series every year.
Ohtani joined Frank Robinson, who won NL MVP in 1961 and AL MVP in 1966, as the only other player in major league history to win the award in both leagues.
Soon, Ohtani will probably recognize a familiar face in the major leagues. Roki Sasaki, a highly regarded pitcher, is anticipated to acquire a Major League Baseball contract by January. When Japan won the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he and Ohtani became teammates.
Ohtani responded, “No, I haven’t really been recruiting him in any way.” Since I think of him as a friend, we will occasionally discuss life and baseball in general. Wherever he chooses to sign, I will respect his choice, and I believe he will succeed.
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