During the offseason, Shohei Ohtani decided to stay in Los Angeles.
He just switched from red to blue: he went from the Angels to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and signed the biggest contract in MLB history.
Ever since he signed, he has experienced a series of “firsts”: his first press conference with a Dodgers uniform, his first hacks as a member of the team, and now his first official batting practice in spring training with full Dodgers gear on.
Shohei Ohtani taking batting practice in a Dodgers uniform for the first time#SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/52cvS7N60B
— MLB (@MLB) February 14, 2024
MLB tweeted a couple of pictures of Ohtani in his new jersey and it’s fair to say the blue looks great on him.
He is going from a perennial loser to a franchise that can guarantee postseason contention almost for the entire duration of his contract.
Ohtani is already taking some swings after a couple of injuries took him out of action for most of September: a torn UCL and an oblique strain.
The oblique strain is a thing of the past.
However, the elbow injury resulted in surgery, and he will be out as a pitcher until 2025.
The Dodgers, however, are relying on him to be a top hitter in 2024, and are expecting big things from him.
This is a player who just posted a career-high 1.066 OPS and hit 44 home runs in five months of action.
He did that surrounded by a group of mediocre hitters and Mike Trout.
No one knows what he can do with Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Jason Heyward, Gavin Lux, and other excellent hitters getting on base in front of him or driving him in.
His runs and RBI numbers will probably come close or surpass career-highs.
The world is excited about the chance of watching Ohtani play in the postseason.
Barring injury, he will almost certainly have that chance.
The post MLB Shows Off Shohei Ohtani In His New Uniform appeared first on The Cold Wire.