CNN
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It’s been coming for a long time, but the highly anticipated return to pitching of the shoe hei ohtani may not be that far away.
The Japanese star took a big step to return to the mound on Sunday, which pleased the Citi Field crowd ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers game against the New York Mets, facing the batsman for the first time in almost two years.
Otani threw 22 pitches on the appearance of five simulated plates. This is the first time he has faced a batsman since undergoing procedures to repair his right ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow in September 2023.
Since then, Ohtani has been featured only in Batt and his two-way games – which made him a global superstar – has been hampered.
On Sunday, the three MVPs were mostly throwing fastballs, cutters and sinkers, with fastballs at around 94-95 miles per hour, at 97am.
“I know I’m throwing a bit hard when there’s a batsman in the box,” Ohtani said through Will Eileton of the interpreter, according to the MLB website. “I’m trying to keep it 93-94, but I know I was touching on the 6 and 7S.
Dodgers pitching coach Mark Mark Pryor said he was mostly pleased with how Otani played against live batsmen.
“He looks good. He looked healthy,” the former said. “That’s the main thing that hits you all the time. He has confidence, his endurance is good, he kept his own. From that perspective, it was good.
Otani faced Dalton Rush, Kim Hae-on and LA game planning coach JT Watkins in the live session.
It may still be a while before Otani returns to the mound completely, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says he won’t pitch to the team before the game until an All-Star break takes place in mid-July.
However, Sunday was a major step in the process, with the three MVPs happy with his progress.
“I haven’t been thrown for a while so it’s great that I could feel like a pitcher,” Otani said. “I remembered a time when I had so many good memories as a pitcher.”
Otani’s public workout was monitored by a rather good looking crowd from the stands and some Mets players, despite being a few hours before the game.
The Dodgers lost 3-1 to the Mets, but dropped their sixth game in the final nine, but Otani maintained his good form with the bat, hitting the 18th home run of the season, tied him down on the 2025 leaderboard with Judge Aaron and Kyle Schwarmer.