Shohei Ohtani was scheduled to face batters Saturday for the primary time since he underwent a second Tommy John surgery in September 2023, however the late ending of Friday’s extra-inning win by the Dodgers at Citi Field forced the Dodgers to push it back to Sunday.
It’s hardly ever a pitcher’s return is anticipated as much as this one, but there’s just one Ohtani.
Griffin Canning has seen Ohtani up close for longer than most.
Canning was drafted by the Angels out of UCLA within the second round in July 2017.
Five months later, the Angels won the Ohtani sweepstakes.
And by the point Canning made his MLB debut in 2019, Ohtani was already meeting the extraordinarily high expectations he arrived with on either side of the ball.
“I remember being within the minors once we signed him and the way exciting it was,’’ Canning said before the Mets faced the Dodgers on Saturday in Queens. “He’s definitely lived as much as the hype.”
It took a while, as Canning recalled seeing Ohtani in spring training in 2018 and Ohtani hadn’t yet turned the baseball world on its head.
“I feel Japanese players view spring training a bit in a different way,” Canning said of Ohtani’s famously poor performance through the Cactus League in Arizona that spring. “He got here over here and wasn’t throwing as hard as before. And hitting is at all times an adjustment and he was doing stuff together with his leg kick.”
Those changes didn’t take long to kick in, as Ohtani excelled each on the plate and on the mound before being shut down in September with an ulnar collateral ligament injury that led to his first Tommy John surgery.
He returned to the mound in 2020, won the American League MVP with the Angels in 2021 and ’23, and finished fourth within the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2022.
Ohtani signed with the Dodgers for 10 years and $700 million prior to the 2024 season after which won his first National League MVP, but he’s yet to throw a pitch with the organization.
He’s been throwing bullpen sessions and has gotten as much as 50 pitches, including breaking balls. Ohtani isn’t expected to hitch the Dodgers rotation until after the All-Star break.
“I would like to see him throw [Sunday],’’ Canning said. “I’ll be on the market.”
Canning never found much success as Ohtani’s teammate in Anaheim, but said the star has had an impact on his profession.
“Just watching him go about his business was essential,’’ said Canning, who has been a major a part of the surprisingly good Mets rotation after signing within the offseason. “How routine-oriented and focused he’s on what he must get done.”
And while their repertoires were different, Canning said he’d still attempt to glean some knowledge from him.
“On the pitching side, we’d talk and I’d pick his brain on how he checked out lineups and desired to attack them,” Canning said. “He gave me some tips on pitch grips.”
Greater than anything, though, Canning enjoyed the spectacle, which is why he’s looking forward to seeing Ohtani on the mound in games again.
“It was loads of fun watching him pitch,” Canning said. “He had a special game plan for everybody and different ideas for a way he could manipulate the ball.”
There have been few larger events — especially with the Angels, who managed to not win much despite the presence of Ohtani and a healthy Mike Trout — than Ohtani starts.
“You form of get used to it, seeing him day by day,” Canning said. “The things he was capable of do looked normal. That’s how special a player he’s.”
Shohei Ohtani was scheduled to face batters Saturday for the primary time since he underwent a second Tommy John surgery in September 2023, however the late ending of Friday’s extra-inning win by the Dodgers at Citi Field forced the Dodgers to push it back to Sunday.
It’s hardly ever a pitcher’s return is anticipated as much as this one, but there’s just one Ohtani.
Griffin Canning has seen Ohtani up close for longer than most.
Canning was drafted by the Angels out of UCLA within the second round in July 2017.
Five months later, the Angels won the Ohtani sweepstakes.
And by the point Canning made his MLB debut in 2019, Ohtani was already meeting the extraordinarily high expectations he arrived with on either side of the ball.
“I remember being within the minors once we signed him and the way exciting it was,’’ Canning said before the Mets faced the Dodgers on Saturday in Queens. “He’s definitely lived as much as the hype.”
It took a while, as Canning recalled seeing Ohtani in spring training in 2018 and Ohtani hadn’t yet turned the baseball world on its head.
“I feel Japanese players view spring training a bit in a different way,” Canning said of Ohtani’s famously poor performance through the Cactus League in Arizona that spring. “He got here over here and wasn’t throwing as hard as before. And hitting is at all times an adjustment and he was doing stuff together with his leg kick.”
Those changes didn’t take long to kick in, as Ohtani excelled each on the plate and on the mound before being shut down in September with an ulnar collateral ligament injury that led to his first Tommy John surgery.
He returned to the mound in 2020, won the American League MVP with the Angels in 2021 and ’23, and finished fourth within the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2022.
Ohtani signed with the Dodgers for 10 years and $700 million prior to the 2024 season after which won his first National League MVP, but he’s yet to throw a pitch with the organization.
He’s been throwing bullpen sessions and has gotten as much as 50 pitches, including breaking balls. Ohtani isn’t expected to hitch the Dodgers rotation until after the All-Star break.
“I would like to see him throw [Sunday],’’ Canning said. “I’ll be on the market.”
Canning never found much success as Ohtani’s teammate in Anaheim, but said the star has had an impact on his profession.
“Just watching him go about his business was essential,’’ said Canning, who has been a major a part of the surprisingly good Mets rotation after signing within the offseason. “How routine-oriented and focused he’s on what he must get done.”
And while their repertoires were different, Canning said he’d still attempt to glean some knowledge from him.
“On the pitching side, we’d talk and I’d pick his brain on how he checked out lineups and desired to attack them,” Canning said. “He gave me some tips on pitch grips.”
Greater than anything, though, Canning enjoyed the spectacle, which is why he’s looking forward to seeing Ohtani on the mound in games again.
“It was loads of fun watching him pitch,” Canning said. “He had a special game plan for everybody and different ideas for a way he could manipulate the ball.”
There have been few larger events — especially with the Angels, who managed to not win much despite the presence of Ohtani and a healthy Mike Trout — than Ohtani starts.
“You form of get used to it, seeing him day by day,” Canning said. “The things he was capable of do looked normal. That’s how special a player he’s.”
