The Los Angeles Dodgers have enjoyed Shohei Ohtani’s extraordinary ability for three seasons, but 2026 represented the first year he began as both a hitter and pitcher.

Ohtani hit .310 with 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, 59 stolen bases and a 1.036 OPS in 159 games during his first Dodgers season. He did not pitch but still captured his third MVP award.

In 2025, Ohtani hit .282 with 55 home runs, 102 RBIs, 20 stolen bases and a 1.014 OPS in 158 games. He took a cautious approach to returning to the mound, posting a 2.87 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 47 innings over 14 starts.

Ohtani earned his fourth MVP award and third consecutive one.

He then opened 2026 performing at a Cy Young-caliber level, going 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 85.2 innings over 14 starts.

However, problems involving his left knee, right arm and biceps affected him more as a pitcher than a hitter. Those injuries removed Ohtani from the rotation for what became the remainder of the season.

Offensively, Ohtani hit .275 with 30 home runs, 81 RBIs and an .889 OPS in 135 games. By October, however, he was clearly not operating at full strength.

Ohtani endured the worst postseason of his career, hitting .192 with one home run, three RBIs, three runs scored and 10 strikeouts in eight games.

Although Ohtani grew up idolizing MLB Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki, he was undoubtedly familiar with Nippon Professional Baseball legend Sadaharu Oh.

Oh owns a world record with 868 home runs in 2,831 games over 22 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants from 1959 through 1980.

Oh recently discussed Ohtani’s hitting excellence with Satoshi Iizuka from Kyodo News. He explained that Ohtani should end his pitching career, concentrate exclusively on hitting and challenge himself to discover how far his offensive ability can take him.

“Personally, I think he should focus solely on batting and challenge himself to see how far he can go,” Oh said.

An opinion from a figure as revered as Oh carries considerable weight within the baseball world. However, Ohtani may define challenging himself differently, with pitching remaining essential to how he measures his full potential.

Ohtani said earlier last season that he prefers pitching and hitting during the same games.

His ability to influence a game in both roles separates him from every other player, but the physical demands create a difficult balance. The Dodgers must protect the hitter without unnecessarily limiting the pitcher.

Ohtani’s power, speed, plate discipline and ability to change games make his bat indispensable. His pitching provides additional value, but availability must remain the priority.

Should injuries trouble him again in 2027, especially injuries potentially connected to the additional wear created by pitching, Los Angeles may need to consider how far it will go to protect the most important hitter in its lineup.