It’s official: The Dodgers sign Shohei Ohtani
by Cary Osborne
Shohei Ohtani is a Dodger.
The two-time American League Most Valuable Player and one of the most recognizable names in sports has signed a historic 10-year deal.
“Dodger fans, thank you for welcoming me to your team,” Ohtani said. “I can say 100 percent that you, the Dodger organization and I share the same goal — to bring World Series parades to the streets of Los Angeles.”
“On behalf of the L.A. Dodgers and our fans everywhere, we welcome Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers, the home of Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax and Hideo Nomo, three of the sport’s most legendary and pathbreaking players. We congratulate him on his historic contract with our storied franchise,” said Mark Walter, Chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Guggenheim Baseball. “Shohei is a once-in-a-generation talent and one of the most exciting professional athletes in the world. Our players, staff, management and ownership look forward to working together with Shohei to help the Dodgers continue to add, improve and strive for excellence on the field. Together with Shohei, we will work to help grow the number and breadth of people around the world who enjoy the excitement of Major League Baseball.”
The 29-year-old designated hitter and right-handed pitcher from Oshu, Japan, spent the last six seasons with the Angels where he put up historic numbers.
Ohtani is the only player in National League/American League history to have hit at least 100 home runs and strike out 600 batters. The only other player with 100 homers and 500 strikeouts is Babe Ruth.
Ohtani is the only NL/AL player with three 100-hit batting seasons and 100-strikeout pitching seasons (2021, 2022, 2023).
Ohtani’s offensive numbers are astonishing.
Take standard statistics. He led the Major Leagues in 2023 in on-base percentage (.412), slugging percentage (.654) and OPS (1.066) and led the American League in home runs (44) despite missing the last month. Ohtani finished above .300 in average for the first time at .304.
Take advanced statistics, where he led the Majors in 2023 in OPS+ (184), weighted runs created + (180) and weighted on-base average (.433). His 10.0 Baseball Reference WAR (bWAR) led the Majors.
Take quality of contact statistics where he led the Majors in 2023 in barrel percentage (19.6) and ranked second in average exit velocity (94.4 mph).
Ohtani’s walk percentage (15.2) was a career-best and his strikeout percentage (23.9) was a career-low.
Between 2021–2023, Ohtani hit 124 home runs (fourth-most in the Majors), and had a .964 OPS (second).
He has a career slash line of .274/.366/.566/.922 with 171 home runs.
One of the elite hitters of this generation, Ohtani’s pitching numbers are also elite.
His 2.84 ERA from 2021–2023 ranks third in the Majors among pitchers with at least 400 innings pitched. His 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings rate also ranks third. Ohtani’s 151 ERA+ ranks second.
He limited opponents to a .184/.285/.333/.618 slash line last season.
The .184 opponents’ batting average ranked second in the Majors among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched behind NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
Ohtani, in 23 starts, had a 3.01 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, struck out 167 batters in 132 innings (11.4 K/9) and went 10–5. He has a career 3.01 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and has averaged 11.4 K/9 in 86 career starts.
Ohtani had surgery on his right elbow on Sept. 19. He gives the Dodgers a potential top-of-the rotation starter down the line.
Ohtani immediately adds to what was already one of the most fearsome lineups in Major League Baseball and gives the Dodgers three MVPs at the top — Mookie Betts (2018 AL MVP), Freddie Freeman (2020 National League MVP) and Ohtani (2021 and 2023 AL MVP).
The Dodgers’ 906 runs in 2023 are an all-time high since the team moved to Los Angeles in 1958.
Ohtani becomes the 11th Japanese-born Dodger — a list that includes former Dodger outfielder and current manager Dave Roberts and pioneering pitcher Hideo Nomo, who became the first player from a Japanese professional league to appear in the Major Leagues since Masanori Murakami, a left-handed pitcher with the 1964–65 San Francisco Giants.
The Dodgers open the regular season on March 20 in South Korea against the Padres. They open at Dodger Stadium on March 28 against the Cardinals. They’ll do so with Ohtani, a three-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner and global sports superstar.
