by Mark Langill
Shohei Ohtani has played 70 games this season as a designated hitter, yet his appearance tonight at Dodger Stadium is one of the most anticipated first pitches in Dodger Stadium history.
Because he’s throwing it.
Against the San Diego Padres, Ohtani ventures into baseball galaxy once thought to be far, far away — at least while the heralded slugger recovered from a second elbow surgery and was limited to hitting during his historic 50/50 season in 2024.
Since signing with the Dodgers as a free agent on Dec. 11, 2023, it took 18 months for Ohtani to travel 60 feet and six inches, the distance from home plate to the pitcher’s mound.
Now, the modern-day Babe Ruth makes his first pitching appearance since Aug. 23, 2023, when he was a member of the Los Angeles Angels. In 86 career starts with the Angels from 2018 to 2023, Ohtani was 38–19 with a 3.01 ERA with 608 strikeouts in 481 2/3 innings.
As a batter in 2025, the reigning National League MVP is slashing .297/.393/.642/.1.034 with 25 home runs, 41 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
Not since the arrival of Boston Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez at the trading deadline on July 31, 2008, has a Dodger in-season player announcement triggered the excitement and attention of Ohtani’s pitching debut as a Dodger, which was announced after Sunday’s 5–4 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
Ramirez was a 12-time All-Star with 510 career home runs at the time of his trade, which wasn’t even anticipated among Dodger fans until the news broke at the deadline as Los Angeles general manager Ned Colletti pulled off a three-way deal with the Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates.
On the morning of the Ramirez trade on July 31, 2008, the Dodgers (54–53) trailed Arizona (55–52) by one game in the National League West.
On August 1, a crowd of 55,359 at Dodger Stadium watched Ramirez’s debut against Arizona (2-for-4) on a Friday night. The previous night’s attendance at Dodger Stadium — with Ramirez still making travel arrangements to Southern California — was 42,440.
Ramirez justified the hype after joining the Dodgers. He slashed .396/.489/.743/1.232 in 53 games with 17 home runs and 53 RBI. Despite his brief Dodger tenure in 2008, Ramirez finished fourth in the National League MVP balloting.
In addition to helping the Dodgers reach the National League Championship Series for the first time since 1988, Ramirez became an instant fan favorite. The Field Level seating area was named “Mannywood.”
The difference this time around is when the curtain rises, the star attraction is still a familiar face. We knew Ohtani was going to pitch eventually. We just didn’t know when. The Dodgers made the announcement on Sunday night. Today is the day.
Now pitching: Shohei Ohtani was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.