From 50/50 to Cy Young? Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani on a mission
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is on a mission to become a Cy Young Award winner, and his journey has been nothing short of remarkable.
As a two-way player, Ohtani has already achieved great success, becoming the first designated hitter to win an MVP and leading the 50/50 club. But now, he's setting his sights on the ultimate pitching honor.
'There's no ceiling with him,' Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. 'He can go out there and win a Cy Young this year. I have no doubt about that.'
Ohtani's path to the Cy Young Award is not without its challenges. After a successful first season with the Dodgers, he's now working closely with an organization known for making pitchers better, despite its reputation for injuries. But with a strong support system and a competitive rotation, Ohtani is in a prime position to maximize his potential.
'It's the competitive standard you start creating,' pitching coach Mark Prior said. 'And then, it becomes like a brotherhood or like a loyalty thing, however you'd like to describe it, like you want to hold up the standard that is being set by whether it's one pitcher or maybe three or four of them.'
Ohtani's return to pitching began with him essentially moving his rehab into games. He started by throwing one inning at a time in the middle of June and didn't progress to the five-inning mark until the end of August. All told, he put up a 3.34 ERA with 90 strikeouts and 16 walks in 67⅓ innings, playoffs included.
'He keeps getting put in these spots where you expect something incredible to happen, and he rarely disappoints,' Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. 'To me, it's going to be the same thing this year -- he's not going to disappoint.'
But will Ohtani's mission to become a Cy Young Award winner be successful? Only time will tell. As he continues to push the boundaries of what's possible, the baseball world watches with bated breath, eager to see what he accomplishes next.
