Batting second behind Mookie Betts and ahead of Freddie Freeman, Ohtani strikes out looking in his first at-bat, hits a hard double-play ball to second base in the third inning then hits a two-run opposite-field homer in the fifth.
— The jerseys appear low-grade, the pants are see-through and the letters on the back are too small.
The complaints about the new MLB uniform template have been plentiful, although the talk Tuesday mostly advanced to who was wearing that garb and not the aesthetic.
Shohei Ohtani made his debut in a spring training game for the Dodgers, and while the environment still fell short of a regular-season game, it was far more than a simple romp in the sun on an idyllic desert day.
Showing his well-known penchant for the dramatic against the Chicago White Sox, Ohtani struck out looking in the first inning, grounded into a double play in the third and rose to the occasion with a two-run opposite-field home run on a full-count pitch in the fifth to cap his day. From one eyebrow raised to mouths agape.
“I definitely feel good at the plate and felt better each time I got up so it’s trending in the right direction,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, five months after elbow surgery that will prevent him from pitching this season.
The Dodgers’ new $700 million man might or might not be a contractual steal, depending on your financial acumen and personal team loyalties, but there was no denying his ability to generate a tornado of energy wherever he went.
As he jogged off the field, through a throng of assembled fans, a high-pitched cheer erupted like it was the curb of a movie premier. And that was three hours before the first pitch, while the Dodgers conducted a morning workout.
Even before the two-time American League MVP made himself visible, the buzz began as Manager Dave Roberts revealed his first lineup of what is sure to be three future Hall of Famers at the top.
