Japanese two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani homered in his first at-bat of spring training in the bottom of the first inning, at home against Los Angeles Angels left-handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi on Friday, February 28 at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz.
Ohtani crushed a 93.9 mph four-seam fastball on a 3-2 count. His exit velocity was 107 mph with a 26-degree launch angle, carrying the ball into the Dodgers’ bullpen beyond the left-field wall. The Dodgers went on to beat the Angels 6-5 on Friday and are now 3-6 in Cactus League play. The Angels dropped to 3-3.
Shohei Ohtani's first at-bat of #SpringTraining …
Shohei Ohtani's first HOME RUN of Spring Training! pic.twitter.com/k1fScI5BrD
— MLB (@MLB) March 1, 2025
Ohtani also homered in his Spring Training debut in Dodger blue on February 27, 2024 at home against the Chicago White Sox.
Shohei Ohtani homers in his @Dodgers #SpringTraining debut. 💥💥 pic.twitter.com/o6vMUHKUR4
— MLB (@MLB) February 27, 2024
Ohtani fans who have traveled to Arizona to witness his dominance on the mound and at the plate have caught glimpses during his time with the Angels and Dodgers. Ohtani hit five home runs and a .548 average in spring training in 2021. In 2024, he hit .393 with a .500 on-base percentage and a .714 slugging percentage over 11 games. He recorded 11 hits in 28 at-bats, including two home runs, one triple, and six walks, while driving in nine runs.
On the mound, he has logged just 21 total innings in spring training, missing time due to injuries and recovery periods. The World Baseball Classic is scheduled from March 5 to 17, 2026.
The Dodgers front office will have to evaluate through the rest of spring training and regular season on how they want to use Ohtani on the mound, and prior to the start of 2026 with the WBC and spring training beginning during the same time frame.
For a deeper look at Shohei Ohtani’s path to the Dodgers, his historic contract, and his record-breaking success, read World Baseball Network’s feature on the six Asian-born players on the Dodgers and Cubs. His unprecedented contract deferrals, which reduce his competitive balance tax hit to approximately $46 million per year, were first reported by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic and later analyzed in CBS Sports.
The Dodgers will play the San Francisco Giants at Camelback Ranch on Saturday, March 1 at 3:05 p.m. EST. The Angels will play at home at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. against the Athletics at 3:10 p.m. EST on March 1.
The 2025 Major League Baseball regular season will begin at the Tokyo Dome on March 18, when the Chicago Cubs take on the 2024 World Series champion, Los Angeles Dodgers at 6 a.m. EDT on FOX. The second game of the MLB World Tour Tokyo Series will follow on March 19 at 6 a.m. EDT on Fox Sports 1.
