Dodgers' Ohtani makes his first appearance in an exhibition game against the White Sox on the 28th

First game after elbow surgery

The date for American Major League Baseball (MLB) superstar Shohei Ohtani (30, LA Dodgers) to play in an exhibition game for the first time has been set.

MLB.com reported on the 26th (Korean time), “Ohtani will start as the designated hitter in the exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox on the 28th.”

This is Ohtani's first time playing in a game since signing a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers this off-season. It is also his first appearance since undergoing right elbow surgery in September of last year.

The Dodgers began their exhibition game schedule starting with the game against the San Diego Padres on the 23rd. Instead of playing in the game, Ohtani improved his condition by engaging in live batting against the pitcher as if it were a real game.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on this day, “Ohtani came to bat three times (today) and showed good performance.”

Ohtani, who is aiming to participate in the 'Seoul Series' with San Diego to be held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on March 20th and 21st next month, will now adjust his sense of real-life performance in exhibition games.

Ohtani, who debuted in the big league as a member of the Los Angeles Angels in 2018 after playing in Japanese professional baseball, created a sensation as both a pitcher and batter. He appeared in a total of 86 games as a pitcher, recording 38 wins, 19 losses, and an earned run average of 3.01, and as a hitter, he had a batting average of 0.274, 171 home runs, and 437 RBIs in 716 games.

Due to the aftermath of his elbow surgery, he will not be on the mound this year and will only focus on hitting. 스포츠토토