Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is a completely different person when he is on the mound.
The first half of the 2026 Major League Baseball season is nearly over, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have cruised to the best record in baseball while in pursuit of their third-straight World Series title.
A significant reason for the Dodgers’ success has been the play of Shohei Ohtani, who is having the best season of his career as a pitcher while maintaining strong hitting numbers.
When it comes to hitting and pitching, Ohtani becomes two different people. Recently, Max Muncy and Mookie Betts, Ohtani’s teammates, talked on the "On Base" podcast about the difference in his demeanor depending on the situation.
"Really seeing Shohei this year, his mindset on it, on pitching, is really neat for me," Betts said.
Through 14 starts, Ohtani is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP through 85.2 innings of work.
"It's been really fun to watch," Muncy said. "And, you know, I think you would agree with this statement that Shohei likes to hit, but he loves to pitch. Like he loves everything about pitching. He likes working at it, he likes talking about it, he likes scouting for it.
"Hitting just comes easy to him," Muncy added. "He just does it. But pitching, pitching, you see him out there every single day doing bullpens and working on his mechanics and working on throwing."
Ohtani was unable to pitch in 2024 due to recovering from elbow surgery, and he did not make his return to the mound for the Dodgers until June 2025. But now, he is healthy and dominant.
"And it's like the amount of work he puts in at pitching, I almost feel like if he did that for hitting, he'd be, you know, he was out there with the 400 average and 60 home runs," Muncy said. "But, you know, it's just, yeah, it's just insane to watch him do what he does every single day."
Ohtani’s shift in personality when he is on the mound is what Betts admires.
"What's cool is to see like, well, for me, it's to see like, the personality difference," Betts said. "Like when he hits, he's just a normal guy. You can talk to him. Happy-go-lucky. But when he pitches, it's like a completely… He turns into a killer out there."
Muncy added that when Ohtani is pitching, no one can get in his way or talk to him because it will disrupt his mindset. However, Ohtani’s adoption of a very serious persona when he is pitching has led to his success and, by extension, the success of the team.
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