The day Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers followers have been eagerly ready for lastly arrived. The Japanese participant lastly made his long-awaited debut at Dodger Stadium in opposition to a rival that appeared straightforward, the St. Louis Cardinals. However his first look in entrance of his residence crowd was not what they anticipated.
The arrival of Ohtani to the Californian crew was one of the vital talked about actions within the MLB offseason. His 10-year, $700 million contract is the biggest in Main League historical past, and the deal specs generated a lot controversy within the weeks following the signing.
As soon as all the pieces was settled, all that was left was to see Ohtani go into motion within the Dodgers jersey to know if the funding had been price it. The pitcher/designated hitter’s first official sport was on a crew tour in South Korea in opposition to the San Diego Padres.
The tour was not dangerous for Ohtani, with three hits in 10 at-bats, one run scored, two RBIs, and one stroll in two video games. Nonetheless, for a lot of followers, these video games nonetheless appeared distant, not solely due to the geographical distance but in addition due to the inconvenient schedule that prevented many from watching. For all of them, his actual debut was right now.
A grey night time for Ohtani
The Opening Day was a hit for the house crew. The 7-1 victory was revenge for pitcher Mike Mikolas’ feedback earlier this month that the Dodgers have been enjoying “checkbook baseball.” Mikolas allowed seven hits and 5 runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Nonetheless, Ohtani has little to boast about within the offensive barrage in opposition to Mikolas. Shohei went 2-for-3, with a stroll and a run. Freddie Freeman drove the latter with a house run within the third inning.
Ohtani began the sport properly, with a double down the correct area line. Nonetheless, a communication error on the paths by the Dodgers led him to take third base similtaneously Mookie Betts, who had arrived there after a stroll.
The sequence in opposition to the Cardinals will proceed by way of the weekend at Dodger Stadium. Throughout this time, Ohtani can have the chance to ingratiate himself together with his viewers, each for his grey performances and the betting scandal by which he was concerned by way of his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
