There was plenty of excitement and intrigue building in the days after Shohei Ohtani expressed interest in participating in the 2024 Home Run Derby, but the Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star instead is all but officially forgoing the event.
Despite Ohtani’s willingness to take part in the Home Run Derby for just the second time in his career, all signs now point toward skipping it because of his ongoing recovery from Tommy John surgery.
It is a huge loss for the sport as a whole to not have one of its biggest stars and the National League home run leader taking swings in the marquee event, but it is an understandable decision from both Ohtani’s and Dodgers’ point of view.
“The reason he came to the Dodgers was to win a championship,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And it’s not solely his responsibility to carry Major League Baseball. And he is a guy that is very in tune with his responsibility and the fact that he started an All-Star Game, participated in the Home Run Derby before for the fans. But he is going through rehab, and his job, he signed up to play for the Dodgers, and to take care of himself the best way he can.
“I think in any other normal situation where he wasn’t rehabbing, I think he would love to participate, but then you layer on something that is so unique to anyone, the volume of swings, the intensity of it, it would just be a real disappointment for not only Shohei, the Dodgers, and also the fans, if something were to happen during something like that, which is an exhibition, essentially.
“So I know that has weighed heavy on him, but I do think that the rehab process is something that kind of ultimately makes him feel better about bowing out. But him alone, playing, he’s done a lot for the game of baseball, obviously.”
Roberts had previously admitted his preference was that Ohtani would not do the Home Run Derby, but the Dodgers did not explicitly prohibit him from committing to the event nor make the final decision on their own.
“I think it was a group kind of discussion, and I think that I respected, and I’m sure everyone else, as disappointed as people might be, respected. And again, he signed up here to help us win a championship, and nothing should get in the way of that,” Roberts explained.
The Dodgers’ biggest concern in potentially allowing Ohtani to participate in the Home Run Derby was going to change his very specific training routine, which includes a throwing program that he has shown good progress in over the course of the season.
Adding in an unknown variable into the mix on such short notice was not a risk that the Dodgers and Ohtani were willing to make, even if it is a detriment to helping grow MLB’s popularity.
“It’s just he’s very regimented, and when you’re playing every day alongside the rehab, it’s very, again, regimented. And so now when you have an outlier situation as far as a Home Run Derby, that’s something that no one’s prepared for. And so we have to be very mindful of that,” Roberts said.
Shohei Ohtani voted All-Star Game starter
While Ohtani is not participating in the Derby, he was voted among the 2024 MLB All-Star Game starters. It’s a fourth career selection Ohtani and first in the NL.
Ohtani is due to join Max Muncy and J.D. Martinez as the only Dodgers to start as the designated hitter in an All-Star Game.
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