For anyone hoping that Shohei Ohtani will pitch in the World Series, Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman made it clear on Thursday that there was no chance of that happening.
The Dodgers manager and the team’s president of baseball operations said on Thursday the two-way superstar will only be hitting and that there would be no surprise appearances on the mound when Los Angeles battles the Yankees in the Fall Classic beginning on Friday night.
Roberts emphasized to reporters at Dodger Stadium that “there’s no possibility, none whatsoever” of Ohtani taking the mound during the World Series.
The baseball superstar has been kept off the mound since he underwent elbow surgery a year ago.
Friedman had been asked about the possibility of Ohtani pitching earlier in the day during an appearance on ESPN Radio and confirmed that he would not take the mound.
“Just to hit against them,” Friedman responded when asked about Ohtani’s availability as a pitcher against the Yankees. “He is a one-way player for the next 10 days and then he will go back to being a two-way player.”
Even without the threat of Ohtani taking the mound, he enters the series as its biggest star after a historic first season with the Dodgers where he .310/.390/.646 with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases, becoming the first player ever to join the 50-50 club.
Though Ohtani hasn’t had quite the same success in the postseason, he still has a .934 OPS with three home runs.
The superstar expressed plenty of excitement to reporters on Thursday over the idea of getting to participate in his first World Series.
“I have been watching the World Series every year and watching in the sense of disappointment because I couldn’t play in one,” Ohtani said.
“But this year, I’m able to participate in one and very much looking forward to it.”