Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw is just like every other MLB fan: He’s sometimes befuddled by Shohei Ohtani’s greatness.
Kershaw, on the 60-day injured list as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery he underwent in November of 2023, has had a front-row seat to watch Ohtani in his first season in Los Angeles. And the two-time American League MVP hasn’t disappointed, as he is swinging a hot stick lately, having belted four home runs in his last three games for the Dodgers (24-13).
Kershaw raved about Ohtani on Monday night in an in-game interview with Dodgers broadcasters Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser on Spectrum Sportsnet LA during the team’s 6-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Monday, saying that the Japanese slugger’s recent hot streak has been “unbelievable.”
“I don’t remember him even being this good in Anaheim,” Kershaw said, shaking his head. “I don’t remember him ever being on this kind of tear. This is unbelievable. Every ball that he hits, he’s just so strong. I don’t get it. I don’t think anybody does. He’s just amazing.”
We don’t get it either, Mr. Kershaw.
Ohtani, 29, is the early frontrunner for the National League MVP, as he currently leads MLB in batting average, hits, home runs and OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage). In April, he broke the record for the most career home runs hit by a Japanese-born player.
Beyond the numbers, Ohtani’s feats of strength have been of the usual, jaw-dropping variety. He smashed a heat-seeking missile of a single, the hardest-hit ball of the 2024 season, in an April 27 game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Ohtani crushed the second-longest home run of the 2024 season, a 464-foot blast into the center field bleachers of Dodger Stadium, on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves.
But the fact that Kershaw, an all-time great pitcher ticketed for Cooperstown, can’t comprehend Ohtani’s greatness tells you all you need to know about just how good he really is.
