Should Shohei Ohtani give up pitching? The U.S. media pointed out the key reason: the value of the blow is higher

Dodgers Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani has been focusing on being a hitter since last year, although his goal this season is to return to the pitcher mound and return to the "second stream" skills, but the American media "Sportico" recently wrote an article bluntly, "He shouldn't pitch at all." and emphasized that Otani's striking value has gone far beyond his contributions as a pitcher.

Since August 2023 due to an ulnar collateral ligament injury in his right elbow, Ohtani has suspended sealing pitching and has not appeared on the Major League Pitcher Mound. Despite this, he still delivered an amazing performance as a designated striker, hitting 54 hits and 59 thieves in a single season last year, leading the Dodgers to the championship. The article also pointed out that "he is one of the strongest hitters today, and even at critical moments his value is above the Yankee heavy artillery "Judge" Aaron (Aaron Judge)."

Dodgers are still scheduling Ohtani's rehab and pitching drills this season in hopes of returning him to the pitching role this year, but the article questioned the necessity of the program, "Why ruin the status quo where everything is going well? Even though the Dodgers have a lot of injuries in the starting rotation, they are still one of the top teams."

The article further notes that Ohtani has a history of injuries in the past, having undergone two elbow ligament reconstruction surgeries, one knee surgery, and labral tear repair in his left shoulder since entering the major league in 2018. Believing that Ohtani's body has already reached its limit, "his striking contribution is too important for Dodge to take any more risks."

At the end of the article, he even took baseball legend Babe Ruth as an example, when the Yankees bought the second-star from the Red Sox, because of his amazing striking power, he finally let him focus on hitting, and only threw four more starts in his career, but accumulated 714 hits. In this regard, "Sportico" emphasized that "the Dodgers should be handled by comparison, and even those four games should not be let Ohtani vote."