Shohei Ohtani the biggest worldwide star in baseball, so it’s only fitting that the Dodgers designated hitter will be showcased in the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday.
Stats
Ohtani is hitting .275/.380/.608 with a 168 wRC+, leads the National League with 32 home runs and a .987 OPS, and leads the majors with 89 runs scored.
Ohtani during May hit 15 home runs to match the Dodgers franchise record for a single month, which was enough to capture National League player of the month.
As if that wasn’t enough, Ohtani has also worked his way back to the mound, in incremental fashion with nine total innings in his five pitching starts. Those nine innings have been excellent, allowing a run on five hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts.
Selection process
Ohtani was elected by fans to start the All-Star Game at designated hitter for a fifth consecutive season. He led all National League players with 3,967,668 votes in the first round of voting, which bypassed the second round of voting and earned Ohtani an automatic starting spot.
Aaron Judge earned the same with the most votes in the American League.
All-Star history
Ohtani in his four previous All-Star Games has two hits in six at-bats plus three walks. One of the hits was a three-run home run off Tanner Houck last year in Texas, making Ohtani the first Dodger to homer in the All-Star Game since Mike Piazza in 1996.
He also made the All-Star Game as a pitcher in 2021 and started that game with a scoreless inning at Coors Field. Ohtani is the only player to be selected as an All-Star as both a hitter and a pitcher.
Fun facts
Ohtani making five All-Star Games is tied with J.D. Martinez for third-most all time, behind only David Ortiz (10 All-Star nods) and Edgar Martínez (six).
Dodgers have started at DH for the National League in four of the last five All-Star Games. Before Ohtani this year and last, J.D. Martinez was elected by fans to start in 2023, and then-first baseman Max Muncy was added to the starting lineup by manager Dave Roberts in 2021, before fans began voting for designated hitters in the National League.