The wait is over for Dodgers fans; Shohei Ohtani is finally returning to the mound—and not in a low-stakes spring training game, not a simulated inning, but under the lights at Dodger Stadium in a showdown against the Padres.
Let that sink in for a second. The man hasn’t thrown a pitch in a major league game since August 2023. That’s 22 months, two elbow surgeries, and roughly 58,000 speculative blog posts ago. And now? He’s back.
The Return of the Dodgers Unicorn
This isn’t just any pitcher making a comeback. It’s Shohei Ohtani—baseball’s version of a Marvel superhero—retaking the ball after nearly two years of rehabbing from his second Tommy John surgery. That kind of medical history would be a career-ender for 99% of athletes. But Ohtani? He’s different. He’s the once-in-a-century talent that turns rehab setbacks into springboards for highlight reels. The Dodgers, and quite frankly, all of baseball, have been holding their collective breath for this.
And his manager, Dave Roberts, knows it. He confirmed Ohtani is likely starting with one inning—maybe two—but even that’s enough to stir an entire fanbase into a frenzy. “He’s getting antsy,” Roberts said. You think? The guy’s been throwing bullpen sessions since February, paused, resumed, simulated, and now, it’s go time.
Still Raking While Recovering
Let’s not overlook the most bonkers part of all this: Ohtani hasn’t just been biding his time on the sidelines. While recovering from injury, he’s also been dominating at the plate with the bat. We’re talking a .297 batting average, a league-leading 1.035 OPS, 25 home runs, and 41 RBIs. He isn’t a man just easing back into form. He is a player who never left MVP-caliber status, even when half of his game was on pause.
And remember—last year, when he was only a batter in his first season with the Dodgers, he slashed .290 with 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, and 59 stolen bases. All of that without touching the mound once. Now that he’s about to reintroduce his pitching arsenal into the mix? Let’s just say that opposing lineups should start practicing their sad trombone reactions now.
All Eyes on Monday Night
There’s something special about a night game at Dodger Stadium, but when Shohei Ohtani is pitching? That’s electricity. The anticipation has been building for months, carefully managed by a medical team led by Dr. Neal ElAttrache and coordinated down to the inning by Dodgers staff. He even had a torn labrum repaired back in November after the Dodgers’ World Series win—just another chapter in his already mythical comeback arc.
Now, Monday night has become more than a ballgame. It becomes the stage for Ohtani’s next act, a performance two years in the making. The lights will be bright, the crowd will be loud, and for the first time in a long time, the mound will belong to Shohei Ohtani again.
