Shohei Ohtani and the Art of Not Ruining Baseball

After the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the 2025 National League Championship Series (NLCS), Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts addressed the crowd and media. He remarked:

Before this season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball. Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball!

Roberts’ comment wasn’t just trash talk after a win. It was a strategic public statement: He acknowledged critics blaming the Dodgers for “ruining baseball" and this Giants fan could not agree more. They have the second highest payroll in MLB. They have won the NL West eleven of the last twelve years. I used to believe what the orange and black meme reported: the West can't be bought, it must be won. I guess we were wrong, but so are the critics. How? Why? 

While I believe there are strong argument for spending, competitive fairness, and what teams who flex a strong financial muscle do to the equation there's an individual—a highly paid, strongly coveted one—who is doing anything but ruining the game. He's illuminating it and it's magic. His name is Shohei Ohtani.

For those of you who have only heard his name until now, as I like to say—no, he's not Irish. Ohtani, Shohei as he is known when he goes to bat in Japan (surname is always first) was born on July 5, 1994 in Mizusawa (now part of Ōshū), a city in Iwate Prefecture, located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. If I were to offer a comparison to a city in the U.S., Bangor, Maine might suffice.

He is a hitting slugger and a slugging hitter. He bats left and throws right—quite often in the same game. His swing is violent but elegant and at times he makes hitting the curve look laughably easy. Although the term "unicorn" is often overused, in this instance it's fitting. He's not a myth, he's a man and will be a legend. He's worth watching in the 2025 World Series, despite the fact he wears Dodger Blue. 

I've written about him before (ISO Creativity...Thank you Shohei Ohtani and The Virtues of Video Games by way of Shohei Ohtani), but he's worth highlighting here and now because this postseason offers a chance to see history and beauty, wonder and awe in action. It's not too late.  

For those who are unaware, on Friday, October 17, 2025, Ohtani pitched six-plus scoreless innings and struck out 10. He also had the 13th three-homer game in postseason history — the first, it goes without saying, that included walking off the pitcher’s mound to a standing ovation. Chelsea James of the Washington Post writes, 

Certainly, by the time he hit his third homer in the seventh inning and sent many of his teammates’ heads into their hands in disbelief, everyone in the ballpark knew they were watching the greatest game any player had ever played.

This is Beethoven at a piano. This is Shakespeare with a quill. This is Michael Jordan in the Finals. This is Tiger Woods in Sunday red.

Yes, nights such as Friday’s are Ohtani’s job. But perhaps more than for any other player in recent years, it is clear they are also his calling. Ohtani is what happens when someone awarded a unique dose of genius follows its lead and ends up where they both belong. He is that rare baseball talent so gifted that no slump ever feels more than a few swings away from ending. His confidence is so durable, it is as if he believes success is fated by now.

Unlike Bob Dylan, Ohtani was not "A Complete Unknown." As featured in the "60 Minutes" interview from 2017, "Shotime" was widely considered a once-in-a-generation talent." During the 13-minute feature, Jon Wertheim reveals that at the age of 18, Ohtani held a press conference to announce his Major League intentions. He went so far as to tell Japanese teams not to draft him. The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters drafted him anyway (first round, 2012), and successfully convinced him to stay in Japan by promising he could be both a pitcher and a hitter. This decision made headlines across Japan as no other professional team made that offer. To say in "a star was born" is short-sighted. Rather, a star shone in the East before it went West.

What might be the most interesting part of this profile is the way that Shohei was coached as a Fighter. The manager Hideki Kuriyama was short on praise. Shohei said "last year when we won the championship, that was the first time he gave me a compliment. He said, 'that was great pitching'." Incredulous, Wertheim repeats, "Never complimented you before that?" Ohtani pauses, shakes his head and retorts, "not once. He always says, you've got to get better." While this style of managing may not ruin baseball or a baseball player—it is certainly interesting and worth further consideration. It worked.

Kuriyama explained his rationale. He said "I truly believed he's a lot better than where he's at right now." Dodger fans—heck any baseball can thank him. Kuriyama was right.

Under no certain terms, would I ever purchase or wear a Dodger jersey. However, if I were to consider that plight, I wouldn't think long or hard. I would purchase #17 in honor of Shoehei Ohtani. He has not ruined baseball, he's only made it more interesting, exciting, and beautiful.  

Photo Credits
Pitching
Hitting
Microphone

The Virtues of Video Games by way of Shohei Ohtani

Do you play video games? Did you spend an inordinate amount of time playing them in college? Read: Do you believe you would now be a medical doctor if you had not? Do you know someone who is gainfully employed, married and raising children and still plays them? Have you expressed your concern? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, fear not. The purpose of this posting is to suggest video games might not be the moral enemy. In fact, they might have a worthy purpose. Video games might have virtues, too. The Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani has helped me understand how and why.

If you haven't already participated in Think ND's on-line course, The Good Life, stop reading now and check it out. (During the COVID-19 hiatus, this might be one of the best things do do!) Dr. Meghan Sullivan a professor of philosophy asks her students to consider, reflect upon, discuss and share their thoughts and responses to the big questions we should be asking.

One question my students have been spending some time with is "What is a my purpose?"

Sullivan proposes virtues—those good moral habits that constitute our character can help us discern an answer. As a high school ethics teacher, I take age appropriate steps toward these questions. With the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm in mind, I enter into their world, connect to their interests, reference their culture for a more lively and spirited question. Fortunately, I found one in the place and space I often do: the wide world of sports. 

Right now my favorite podcast is ESPN Sports Daily, hosted by Mina Kimes. Shohei Ohtani was the subject of the March 5 episode. As reported on their website: 

Shohei Ohtani is one of the Angels' biggest stars, who, at the peak of his game, excels as both a pitcher and batter. Last season, Ohtani was only able to contribute at the plate, as his recovery from Tommy John surgery kept him off the mound. Will the 2020 season see Ohtani participate in both phases of the game, and why is that so unique in MLB? ESPN's Alden Gonzalez traces Ohtani's career and explains what makes him an exceptional talent.

Ohtani has been dubbed the most interesting player in baseball. I find who he is and what he does outside of MLB to be interesting too.

Standing 6'4" and weighing 210 lbs, Ohtani pitches with his right hand and bats left. Carrying the nickname "Sho Time," he hails from Ōshū, Iwate, in Northern Japan. He threw a 99 mph fastball in high school and was drafted from there by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters'. In December 2017 he signed with the Los Angeles Angels and had his MLB debut in 2018. Angels' fans anticipate his return to an active status and the impending start to the 2020 baseball season. 

It has taken Ohtani some time to adjust to American culture and his new clubhouse. In the podcast, Gonzalez said, 

He is a reserved guy, but gradually his teammates have come to know that he's a pretty funny guy, too. He can speak more English than he lets on and Spanish comes easier to him than English does. For example, there are times when he'll blurt out a Spanish cuss word. He's got this subtle humor and he's got some really good comedic timing.  

The big thing that allowed him to fit in with his teammates was that game Clash Royale. It's a video game. He's AMAZING at Clash Royale. Teammates started to see some of his personality come out. He talks trash while beating his teammates at it. Sometimes he's playing the game and beating somebody while multi-tasking. Clash Royale became a tool for him to interact with his teammates more. 

When I heard this anecdote, I knew I could use it for the good. The next day, I returned to my lesson plan and asked my students: Wha is the purpose of video games? What is the purpose of a friend? Sometimes when I ask students to start writing, it takes more than a minute for the pen to hit the paper. Not this time!

They noted that the purpose of a video game is entertainment. It's a way to have fun and to relax. Others admitted that it's a distraction. They said "it distracts me from what I need to do and what I am supposed to do." Many agreed. I responded with a question. What if I told you one purpose of a video game is to  connect you to others? Could that be true? They sat upright. 

I asked them if anyone had heard of Shohei Ohtani. I shared his story. They loved it. With their attention in mind, we returned to our philosophical conversation with vigor. Tell me the purpose of a friend. To support you. To be a person you can trust and rely upon. To help you be a better person. To care for you.... the list went on.

My friend Alex Montoya's personal motto is "See the Good." I know the frustration that too many parents (friends? spouses?) feel about video games. They can be addictive and kids spend far too much time in front of a screen, rather than reading, playing outside, doing chores, completing homework and so forth. However, one of the four classical or Cardinal Virtues is moderation. Video games, in moderation, might actually lead to "the good life."  As with Shohei Ohtani, we see that video games can bridge a cultural and linguistic divide. They can reveal our unique personality and help us to see others in a new light. Sounds like a good purpose to fulfill.

And don't forget "all things in moderation, even moderation."

Photo Credits
Think ND
Clash Royale
Head Shot
High Five
Two-Way Player
Cycle