Batting calm but pitching fiery? Coach highlights Shohei Ohtani's "dual personality"

Since Shohei Ohtani started taking the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, the various sides he has shown have caught the coaches' notice. As reported by *The New York Times*, Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts has often noted: "When he's pitching, it's as if he flips into another character."

This two-way star exhibits two entirely different temperaments when batting and when pitching. For Dodgers fans, the personality of "batter Ohtani" has long been familiar—he is typically calm, composed, and rarely shows extreme joy or frustration. He only becomes more animated when making history, such as achieving 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in 2024, or during critical playoff moments, like the momentum-shifting home run in the same year's NL Division Series.

In contrast, "pitcher Ohtani" exudes a completely different aura. His emotions are far more visible, and in crucial situations he often releases pressure with intense displays. Pitching coach Mark Prior stated bluntly: "He's definitely more fired up when pitching. 'Fired up' might be an understatement—there's a burning competitiveness in him. He craves facing the best hitters, and that desire to win is obvious."

In the first two months of this season, pitcher Ohtani's passionate moments on the mound were frequent: On April 15 against the San Francisco Giants, he escaped a jam with runners on second and third in the sixth inning, struck out the batter, and roared while pumping his fist on the mound; on May 20 in a road game against the San Diego Padres, he induced a double play from Fernando Tatis Jr. with the bases loaded, then excitedly raised both arms and shouted "Let's go!" multiple times.

Even last week against the Colorado Rockies, after an unstable start, Ohtani rarely cursed out loud, eventually tossing six no-hit innings and slapping his glove after the final strikeout to boost morale.

Regarding this mental contrast, Prior believes it stems from the nature of baseball: "As a pitcher, you control the pace of the game. Since you initiate every play, I think he can channel his emotions more effectively. In contrast, hitting is a reactive action—being too aggressive or overly tense actually works against the batter."

In fact, this trait didn't develop overnight. Sasaki Hiroshi, Ohtani's mentor during his high school years at Hanamaki Higashi, revealed as early as 2017 that when batting, Ohtani is like a "baseball kid" enjoying the fun of the game; but when he steps on the mound, he treats it as a "job" and a "career."

Ohtani himself explained the difference in mindset during an interview: "As a hitter, you don't know if a home run will really help the team win; but as a starting pitcher, you know that if you can throw six or seven scoreless innings, the team's chances of winning are very high. So my feelings toward these two game situations are completely different."