Los Angeles Dodgers’ talisman Shohei Ohtani has been out of action since suffering a shoulder injury during Game 2 of the World Series in 2024.
A baseball fan on a social media platform has garnered attention after a post of the supporter predicting Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani’s shoulder injury went viral.
A post was shared before Los Angeles Dodgers star Ohtani injured himself in Game 2 of the World Series in October last year. The fan, who goes by the Reddit username pandaKOST, said: “Ohtani seriously needs to learn how to slide. That left hand shouldn’t be hitting the dirt like that, he’s going to get hurt (knock on wood). Throw both hands straight back or up and slide on your butt! Instead he is sliding on his wrist and knee.”
The Japanese hitter suffered the injury while attempting to slide and steal second base in Game 2 of the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees. Remarkably, despite visibly being in pain, Ohtani showed up to play for the remainder of the series with a makeshift sling as the Dodgers clinched the title by closing out the series in the first five games.
The injury, which is classified as shoulder subluxation, is a partial dislocation. The 30-year-old has since undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
It is also worth noting that Ohtani had not been pitching for the entirety of the 2024 season. In September 2023, he had undergone a separate elbow surgery, which required a minimum of 14 months for full recovery.
The fan’s incredibly accurate prediction was brought to the limelight recently. The comments under the post appreciated the fan’s perspective and close observation of Ohtani’s sliding, saying: “That second to last sentence sounds like coach speak. PandaKOST knows ball.”
Another comment added: “If I recall correctly, Ohtani said in an interview in December that the shoulder pain/injury was not a one time thing. After he dislocated his shoulder he realized he had had a similar pain in his shoulder at many points during the season but neither he nor the trainers had associated that pain with sliding until the injury happened.”
Another said: “Yeah, he had another slide like that where he dropped down a little hard just a couple weeks before that injury too. All it takes is a slight change in balance to go from smooth as silk to a rough jolt. But, he’s also probably been sliding like that for a long time and didn’t suffer a significant injury. It happens.”
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered an injury at second base during Game 2 of the 2024 World Series
The injury happened in what was a historic season for Ohtani, which saw him become MLB’s first-ever player to record 50 home runs and 50 steals in a single season. He achieved this landmark during a 20-4 win over the Miami Marlins in September.
In the latest update, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that Ohtani could make a return during Spring Training, but only as a hitter. He is expected to complete full recovery and resume his role as a pitcher in May 2025.
During a recent event, Ohtani also said: “I felt pretty good about the offseason. I’ve been throwing. I actually started swinging the bat with pretty, you know, good intensity. Like, actually just before coming to the stage I was working out and I was able to work out actually five, six times a week.”
Regardless, the Dodgers should not be too worried about his delay in return as a pitch as they have built a star-studded roster for rotation. Apart from the presence of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, they signed Blake Snell and Japanese rookie Roki Sasaki during the offseason.
