Shohei Ohtani Is Hitless in 17 At-Bats and the Dodgers Just Benched Him Again

Here's something you never thought you'd see: baseball's most dominant two-way player is getting pulled from the lineup because he can't figure out how to hit. Shohei Ohtani is having a Cy Young-caliber season on the mound, but at the plate? He's scuffling like a rookie on a cold streak.

The numbers are hard to ignore. His .814 OPS ranks 54th among qualified hitters. His .240 batting average sits 103rd. Thirty-seven players have more home runs than his six. He's been hitless in his last 17 at-bats. He hasn't gone deep since April 12. This is not the Ohtani we know.

The Pitcher Is Ace-Level. The Hitter? Not Even Close.

On the mound, Ohtani is operating on another planet. His 0.60 ERA leads all of baseball. In 30 innings of work, he hasn't given up a single home run. Opponents are hitting just .160 against him with a .464 OPS. If he stays healthy, racks up around 160 innings, and keeps this pace, a first-career Cy Young is absolutely on the table.

But there's a massive gap between pitcher and hitter. Manager Dave Roberts initially planned to have Ohtani in the lineup for Tuesday's game against Houston. Then he watched his star struggle through another hitless night and changed his mind. For the third time in his last four pitching starts, Ohtani will sit out as a hitter.

The Dodgers Are Running This Show, Not Ohtani

This is new territory for Ohtani. During his six seasons with the Angels, he controlled his own schedule. The undermanned club bent to his preferences. They had no choice. They needed every swing, every pitch.

Not anymore. Roberts, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, and general manager Brandon Gomes are calling the shots. They're being blunt about their strategy: manage the workload. "It doesn't make sense for him to go wire-to-wire as both a pitcher and hitter, playing every day and pitching every week," Friedman explained. "That's hard."

Ohtani says he's fine with it. When asked during his weekly media session, he told reporters: "I'm always going to respect the decision, regardless of if I'm pitching or doing both. I think it's really important that the team makes the decision about what's good for the team." That's respectful. It's also not exactly passionate.

The Dodgers are locked in on October. Full health for postseason baseball is the mission. Everything else is secondary.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.