Dodgers' Dave Roberts calls for grace with Shohei Ohtani as two-way star
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Dodgers' Dave Roberts calls for grace with Shohei Ohtani as two-way star originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came to the defense of his two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
After the Dodgers' tough loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, Roberts emphasized there needs to be patience with Ohtani, noting that as a two-way player, he sometimes requires additional time between innings to properly get ready.
"Just talking about the World Series obviously, they [Blue Jays] were a little frustrated about how long Shohei takes in between innings," Roberts said. "If he's on the bases, there's got to be some grace, which I think the umpires are trying to give him. If you are on the other side, you're trying to rush him as much as possible and treat him like any other pitcher, but the truth is, he's different."
Blue Jays Still Not Happy With Shohei Ohtani's Two-Way Process
The Blue Jays had a problem with it during the World Series, and that remained the case for Wednesday's contest when Ohtani took the mound.
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Blue Jays outfielder George Springer spoke with umpires regarding the time Ohtani was given to prepare to pitch. During last season's Fall Classic, Blue Jays manager John Schneider complained about the excessive time Ohtani took to switch between his pitching and hitting.
This is Ohtani's first full season as a Dodger as a two-way player with no limitations. So far, things have been great for Ohtani on the hill. In two starts, the 31-year-old has a 1-0 record, an impressive 0.00 ERA, eight strikeouts, a 0.75 WHIP, and has allowed an incredible.119 average against opposing hitters in 12 innings.
As for his offense, the four-time MVP has tallied three home runs, eight RBIs and is slashing .286/.407/.524 with a .931 OPS.