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There is no reason to end the unpleasant and offensive debate surrounding the so-called “Ohtani Rule.”
It will take time to understand the issue better, but it came to the fore this week after Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell made some conspiratorial and question-provoking comments.
Are Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers receiving preferential treatment from Major League Baseball and why?
“First of all, Ohtani is a treasure, right?” Dan Duquette, former general manager of the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, told USA TODAY Sports.
There’s no room for debate there. Here’s what you need to know about the rules:
MLB teams are only allowed to carry 13 pitchers on their 26-man active roster, with one exception. A team can use 14 pitchers if one of them qualifies as a two-way player. Ohtani, 31, is the only player in the major leagues who qualifies as a two-way player under MLB standards (more on that below). That means the Dodgers are currently the only team eligible for the exception.
With 14 pitchers on the roster, the Dodgers have an extra arm their rivals can’t afford.
Another rule introduced after Ohtani came to the United States allows two-way players to remain in the game as designated hitters after they finish pitching, rather than requiring them to play in the field.
Duquette suggests that the “Ohtani Rule” is in baseball’s best interest.
“He’s the most marketable player in the game around the world,” Duquette said. “Therefore, discussions about how he will be employed on-site need to be conducted with caution and take into account the workload.”
Ohtani, a left-handed hitter and right-handed pitcher, has undergone reconstructive elbow surgery on his right arm twice, in 2018 and 2023. As a result, he did not pitch in 2019 and 2024.
MLB two-way player rule
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts responded to Counsel’s insinuations that Ohtani and the Dodgers were being given preferential treatment.
“We want other teams to step up and find players who can both (throw and hit),” Roberts said. “He is an exception because he is an exceptional player.”
It’s even more complicated.
One of the reasons the Dodgers acquired Ohtani is because they are a big-market team with the means to sign the Japanese superstar to a 10-year, $700 million contract in 2023. They’ve also spent a lot of money trying to surround Ohtani with talent that could help them win a second and third straight World Series.
Other teams are trying to develop two-way stars through the draft. But former Chicago White Sox GM Rick Hahn said there are unique challenges.
“The challenge is that if an 18-year-old or 21-year-old player continues his development in the minors, those two skills (pitching and hitting) may develop at different rates,” Hahn told USA TODAY Sports. Teams certainly hope to reap the benefits of their draft picks in the big leagues. ”
The likely outcome is that the player is called up to the major leagues before he has enough time in the minor leagues to develop as a two-way player.
There were no such challenges for Ohtani, who honed his two-way skills while playing professional baseball in Japan before making his major league debut with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018.
It goes without saying that Ohtani is a baseball unicorn.
Explaining Shohei Ohtani’s pitching rules
A player can only qualify as a “two-way player” if he pitches at least 20 innings in the major leagues and starts at least 20 games in the major leagues as a position player or designated hitter in either the 162-game season or the preceding 162-game season.
Former Atlanta Braves manager John Coppolella agrees with Dodgers manager Roberts’ point.
“This rule is not unique to the Dodgers,” Coppolella told USA TODAY Sports. “Every team deserves to wear No. 14.”th Pitcher if the player is classified as a two-way player. If Ohtani were to sign with the Yankees or Braves, they would be treated the same way. ”
So why the fuss?
Former pitcher Dave Stewart, who won a World Series ring with the Dodgers in 1981, said he thinks the Dodgers have more talent because of their huge salaries and success. That includes three World Series wins in the past six years.
“Anything that’s good for the Dodgers, everybody’s going to complain about it or think there’s something wrong with it. But the truth is, if other teams had the ability to do what they’re doing, they would do it, too,” Stewart told USA TODAY Sports.
Stewart also suggested that without the “Ohtani Rule,” the current rule would do more harm than good to the Dodgers’ superstar.
“If you have a two-way player that can do that… you have to create special rules, special situations for that type of player,” Stewart said. “You can’t punish players because they can do two things.”
