The Orioles will begin a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, and as usual, Dodger Stadium will be loud and full. The Orioles will face the two-time defending world champions but won’t have to face Shohei Ohtani on the mound. They’ll only face him at the plate.
Ohtani has started three times against the Orioles and is 1-0 with a 5.17 ERA. That ERA is his highest against any opponent he’s faced at least three times.
His .246 average against the Orioles is his sixth lowest against any team, but he’s done damage, hitting 11 home runs in 32 games and compiling a .906 OPS.
The Oriole who knows Ohtani best is leftfielder Taylor Ward, who joined the Los Angeles Angels during the 2018 season, Shohei’s first in the majors. Ohtani moved to the Dodgers in 2024.
“It was a special experience,” Ward said. “I truly believe he’s the best player ever. Watching his daily routine, watching his cage work. I didn’t really see much he did on the mound with like his work and stuff, but it was always fun to play behind him when he pitched. It’s just amazing how much he cares. I was very thankful I was able to play with him.”
Ward also played with another generational player, centerfielder Mike Trout.
“He was learning English at the time, so you could have a conversation with him,” Ward said of Ohtani. “Had conversations here and there. More than anything, he was to himself. Like with Trout and stuff, you don’t want to bother those guys. Their day is so full with everything that’s going on, the last thing you want to do is talk to them too much … We’d have conversations, but mainly in the cage. Other than that, I’d just kind of let him be.”
Adam Ottavino, a longtime major league reliever and currently a broadcaster for ESPN, struck out Ohtani once. Ohtani was 1-for-3 against Ottavino, who marvels at his ability to excel on the mound and at bat.
“I think any player would tell you the same thing,” Ottavino said. “You take up so much of your life and effort to do one thing really well. To have to allocate time to both you would think would be a disadvantage. There might be some aspects of it that are really an advantage.
“That being said, if it was easy, everybody would try it. It seems like the most fun you could have out there, but he’s the only one that gets to do it. He’s the only one that can do it, kind of amazing.”
Orioles manager Craig Albernaz remembers how well Ohtani performed against the Cleveland Guardians last season when Albernaz was a coach.
“First pitch of the game, it was like 99 from Gavin Williams and off [the plate], and he hit it in the second deck,” Albernaz said. “In the next game, Tanner Bibee tried to go backdoor slider. He hit it opposite field, and he hit it like a righty hit it. He’s one of the best in the game, if not the best, for a reason, and what he can do on the mound, too.
“This is something you see in Little League, like the best 12-year-old that does it, and he’s doing it on the biggest stage against the best of the best, and it’s really impressive what he can do.”
Orioles utilityman Blaze Alexander is 0-for-2 with a strikeout against Ohtani.
“He’s a unicorn, how you explain him,” Alexander said. “Hitting’s hard enough, but for him to consistently do what he does at the plate and go on the mound and put up zeroes. It’s special. It’s different. I wish I could do it. That would be cool.”
Ballplayers generally don’t admit to admiring opponents, but Ohtaini is different in that way, too.
“I think every guy in this room would like to do something like that,” Alexander said. “You play both ends of the game. He does it at the highest level. It’s pretty cool. He definitely comes up in conversations, sure.”
The media horde following any star Japanese player is large, but Ohtani has by far the largest following. At least 15 extra reporters cover Ohtani and fellow Japanese pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.
Major leaguers realize he’s special, and try to ignore the crush because they can’t be starstruck.
“We all knew inside,” Ward said. “He’s amazing, but we’re still focused on what we had to do that day individually. I don’t think guys were any different with him being in the clubhouse.
“Shohei in the cage, I just enjoyed watching his work. I didn’t really have too many questions. I just enjoyed watching.”
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