Sadaharu Oh Says Ohtani Should Quit Pitching and Focus on Hitting
Japan's home run king Sadaharu Oh said Shohei Ohtani should give up pitching after a disappointing 2026 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The club has ruled out off-season surgery and says Ohtani will keep pitching next year.
Japan's home run king Sadaharu Oh said Friday that baseball superstar Ohtani should quit pitching and concentrate on hitting after a disappointing season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Oh, now 86, spoke to reporters at a press conference in Tokyo. He believes Shohei Ohtani's heavy workload is taking its toll.
"Personally I think it's only natural that he might not be able to maintain that same level year after year," Oh said. "I think it would be very interesting for him to focus on batting only and see how far he can take that."
The Dodgers see it differently. The club has ruled out off-season surgery for Ohtani and said he will continue to pitch next season.
Ohtani, 32, plays as both pitcher and hitter, a rare feat that has drawn comparisons with Babe Ruth. The four-time Most Valuable Player has struggled with knee and bicep problems since July. The Dodgers failed to win a third straight Major League Baseball championship this season.
His 2026 numbers were his worst since he signed with the Dodgers in 2023. He hit 54 and 55 home runs in his first two regular seasons with the club, but only 30 this year. His batting average fell to .275, from .310 in 2024 and .282 in 2025.
Ohtani is a national hero in Japan and a successor to Oh, who enjoys legendary status there. Oh hit 868 career home runs, more than 100 above any player has reached in MLB. He spent his entire career in Japan, starring for the Yomiuri Giants in the 1960s and 70s.
Oh said he never thought about playing in the US. He believes he could have made an impact if the rules of the time had not stopped players from moving there.
"MLB teams used to come to Japan and play games against us in the off-season but they would treat it a bit like a holiday," he said. "Even so I still hit about 30 home runs in those games, so I think I could have had some success in the US."
He added a caveat: "in the US they have a hard schedule with a lot of travelling, so I wonder if that would have taken its toll on me."
Oh is currently involved in programmes to give Japanese children more opportunities to play baseball. Hideki Kuriyama, who has coached Ohtani at club and international level, joined him at the press conference.
Kuriyama led Japan to the World Baseball Classic title in 2023. He said he expects Ohtani to "come back and surprise us all" next season.
"He had to deal with injury but I think he will take this opportunity to come back even greater," Kuriyama said.
