Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Shohei Ohtani took a major step toward reclaiming his two-way dominance on Sunday, facing live hitters for the first time in nearly two years during a session of live batting practice at Citi Field. The outing marked his first time on the mound since undergoing his second elbow reconstruction surgery in September 2023.
Shohei Ohtani’s Fast Ball Hits 97 During Los Angeles Dodgers Pitching Session
Ohtani, who signed a record-shattering 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers this past offseason—$680 million of which is deferred—threw 22 pitches across five at-bats to three hitters: utilityman Hyeseong Kim, top catching prospect Dalton Rushing, and Dodgers game-planning coach J.T. Watkins. His fastball sat around 95 mph and reportedly touched 97, per pitching coach Mark Prior.
The session drew an audience of Dodgers players, staff, executives, and dozens of Japanese media members. After a brief warmup, Ohtani induced a grounder back to the mound from Kim, who later ripped a would-be double down the right-field line, prompting Ohtani to joke about whether Teoscar Hernández could’ve caught it. Ohtani struck out both Watkins and Rushing with sharp off-speed pitches and ended the session with a five-pitch walk to Watkins.
Though it was just a practice session, the moment felt substantial. Ohtani, the reigning NL MVP, hasn’t pitched in a big-league game since August 23, 2023, when he logged 1⅓ innings for the Angels. As he walked off the field to fist bumps and cheers from teammates, it was clear: Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound is officially underway.