r/Dodgers • u/Willing_Contest_5071 Back-2-Back Champs • 14h ago
Shohei batting practice 10/13/2026
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u/rbmorse Vin Scully 14h ago
His lower body isn't right.
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u/feeling_blue_42 Back-2-Back Champs 8h ago
I don’t know what his normal batting practice looks like, but this didn’t look good. He’s not moving his lower half.
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u/BruitNoise Mookie Betts 10h ago
This is what a "1/3 2-way player" looks like.
I do remember when he was 100% healthy 2-way star and will always love him for that.
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u/TheBotchedLobotomy Kiké Hernández 12h ago
He needs to be on auto take. Draw walks and do damage with his legs on the basepaths.
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u/AdamantArmadillo Player To Be Named Later 10h ago
Why would you walk him at this point? He's doing horribly. He's got to at least foul some off to earn a walk
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u/feeling_blue_42 Back-2-Back Champs 8h ago
Yeah, he got a heavy dose of middle up and middle middle fastballs last game. The book is out on him. No one is pitching him carefully until he does something.
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u/TheBotchedLobotomy Kiké Hernández 10h ago
Idk but i feel like if he just doesnt swing and make them make good pitches hed be more productive than rn lol
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u/jackrabbit323 2025 WS MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto 13h ago
They threw pitches the other day that would've been landing on the 5 freeway last year. Brewers pitching has zero fear or respect for Shohei right now.
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u/vayjining 13h ago
Why would you? Dude is mega hurt and just hacking. They need to rest him but the star of the sho will get wheeled out again.
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u/BruitNoise Mookie Betts 10h ago
I probably mentioned this but everyone appreciates that did 50/50! He did 3HR 10K! This is why we all love him and won't stop loving him as the GOAT.
BUT In October 2026, he's playing like "1/3 2-way player."
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u/Extension-Click-8271 14h ago
Only thing he should be doing is watching 1,000 lefty sliders down and away with the bat on his shoulder, cuz he’s the most automatic out that I’ve ever seen in a 2 strike count at the moment.
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u/AndGuo318 Shohei Ohtani 13h ago
Bro didn’t he get on base twice in game one lol
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u/option-trader 2024 WS MVP Freddie Freeman 12h ago
Yep, looks like he didn't watch Smith all postseason. I wonder if Smith needs to see Muncy's eye doctor.
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u/TheNewGuy13 Vin Scully 12h ago
Ehhhhh not as bad as Bellinger lol. That dude could NOT layoff the slider/curve inside and low. He never saw it at all lol. Was soooo frustrating to know it was coming and he still struck out
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u/weeters143 12h ago
Because it's easy for lefty hitters to identify fastballs in versus sliders away?
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u/Jtd1988 Decoy 11h ago
I hope he finds his swing tonight, because if he goes 0-4 and they aren't in the least bit productive AB's, Dave may not have a choice in benching him game 4 for JDP.
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u/No-Heat8467 Alex Vesia 10h ago
If the dodgers lose tonight the series is over and it won't matter who bats DH.
Having said that, I still believe this series is going 7 games.
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u/Financial_Fee2987 14h ago
His timing is OFF. No pop to the bat. Where is that resounding CRACK sound that used to come from his batting session? Our hero should sit himself and get well for next year. Who knows maybe DePaula can crank some hits out. Monday we had 3 hits to the Brewers 12. not winning anything like that.
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u/option-trader 2024 WS MVP Freddie Freeman 12h ago
Yep, no one was contributing. 3 hits across 9 batters. Everyone played piss poor. Putting a rookie in to lose is not the way.
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u/OGCloudRiPs 11h ago
I don’t understand this opinion he is hurt and struggling and it doesn’t look like an off day is going to resolve that. If he was slumping like the rest of the team that’s different but it looks like watching his at bats that he physically cannot be the Shohei Ohtani we know right now
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u/RomaCafe 2024 WS MVP Freddie Freeman 9h ago
The terrible music doesn't help.
Odd part to me is he's not in the same stance (bat held high) that he is in games. Oh well.
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u/ProudInfluence3770 13h ago
Doesn’t look like someone who should be in the lineup
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u/TessaKatrinaRose 6h ago
He has reached base six times this post season. Will Smith has reached one time.
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u/huggsypenguinpal Yoshinobu Yamamoto 11h ago
Seeing Shohei bunt makes me really sad. It's like seeing someone lose all their magic :(
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u/AdamantArmadillo Player To Be Named Later 10h ago
Not sure if he does that regularly, but I know some guys will start their BP with bunts just as a warm up for hand-eye coordination and to feel the bat on the ball. Doesn't necessarily mean he's planning on bunting in-game.
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u/huggsypenguinpal Yoshinobu Yamamoto 10h ago
I hope you are right. Makes sense to me. Him bunting in a regular season game was funny. Him bunting right now is upsetting :(
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u/adamosan 8h ago
Typical batting practice is usually two bunts in play before you swing. It helps with timing and everyone needs to continue to practice their bunts. It’s part of the game.
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u/nachod00g Blake Snell 9h ago
I’d rather see him bunt instead of taking a hobbled swing at some ball 2 feet out of the outside bottom of the zone
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u/TessaKatrinaRose 6h ago
Lots of players bunt a couple times in batting practice.
Knowing how to bunt shouldn’t make you sad. Don’t be goofy.
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u/BruitNoise Mookie Betts 10h ago
Ohtani isn't pitching. Ohtani hasn't hit a homerun since August. Dodgers need him to do "something".
If this is what fans and Dodgers FO wants. this is what you get.
He can still help the team win.
BUT I want him to sit out, get healthy, get JDP, and stop trying be a "1/3 2-Way player."
Let that sink, he's playing like a "1/3 2-way player."
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u/huggsypenguinpal Yoshinobu Yamamoto 10h ago
I was hoping he would sit out too cuz he looks atrocious. But if he's putting his reputation on the line to play, all I can say is fuck it lets go.
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u/BruitNoise Mookie Betts 10h ago
We all want the Dodgers to win and the most important factor is that we can with or without Ohtani in the line up. We just don't want him to be the main x-factor in the team losing like going 0 for 4 or imperative RISP where a bunt could give us a run but he decides to whiff.
These are about team players vs selfish plays. thinks this why he's bunting in the video. The coaches definitely treating him like a normal player instead of a homerun God.
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u/tinywhisk 11h ago
The first set of swings, there’s an uncanny resemblance to Freeman’s swing mechanics, almost as if he’s trying to take some influence of that into his normal swing. It’s not uncommon to see that sort of thing, in the same way someone in a slump will use another player’s bat to spark something, anything really, to make something click. Hoping it works but JDP needs to be ready to go and Dave’s gotta make a swift decision and not let it drag on too long.
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u/GinoGreer 9h ago
I think they should have edman at 2B, kike in LF, and teo DH. That way you have a better defense, 2 scrappy players on the field the whole game, and you keep jdp as the late inning threat off the bench.
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u/Saucy_Chef_714 Back-2-Back Champs 9h ago
This is not a bad idea. I have been brainstorming on how to get Kike and Edman on the field at the same time, without removing Teo. This would be the best of both worlds. I absolutely love Kike, but I do think Edman is a better 2B player.
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u/thismightbetheway2 8h ago
I think what were seeing here is the first round of Batting practice for Ohtani... usually bunting is a good way to get your eyes seeing a moving ball and working you eyes at ball level. The next set of swings are more of a timing and finding a rhythm to your swing trying to hit the ball the other way, staying inside the ball. Then you can start to swing with more power and select what pitches your attacking. Just my hunch
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u/Willing_Contest_5071 Back-2-Back Champs 11h ago
I noticed the same thing about Freddie’s swing in Othani
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u/bhuang18 Hyun-jin Ryu 13h ago
That’s a big name changer. Normally Shohei doesn’t do batting practice with the team and hits in the cage.
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u/Groove4Him 10h ago
Many of the athlete talking heads are saying that his lower body seems to not be working properly.
My observation in this video is that he seems to turn his hips just AFTER contacting the ball.
Am I wrong, or should it be one fluid motion where his hips are turning as he contacts the ball, and it's one motion together? It just looks like he's swinging, making contact with his upper body, and then his hips are following.
I'm no expert, and I don't know anything. I just hope he finds his swing tonight.
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u/Frequent_Translator3 Mookie Betts 10h ago
Regarding JDP:
I love this kid. He's got the fire we need from young talent.
BUT he has 31 at bats this season.
He's not ready to replace the Sho at DH.
JDP has done great as a pitch hitter.
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u/feeling_blue_42 Back-2-Back Champs 8h ago
With a lefty on the mound, if they replaced Ohtani tonight I would actually DH Teo and put Kiké in LF.
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u/drewskibeauski 7h ago
I haven’t seen/heard a convincing logical argument for why he isn’t ready to be DH, other than weird, overly sentimental seniority bs. We’ve seen him perform very efficiently in that role, and very recently at that. He had the hot hand when they yanked him out for an injured Sho.
He doesn’t swing wildly outside the strike zone, and is at full strength at the moment. Why would anyone pass that up for an injured/severely compromised player?
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u/ShatHammer 13h ago
God damn. Just sit bro
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u/peakydog Michael Kopech 6h ago
he can't even twist and rotate his hips bruh what hitting coach doing? why not try change his swing back to his japan days when he have leg kick . ( Pete Crow-Armstrong (PCA) made an MVP load + stride adjustment 🔥 )
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u/WearNo6005 14h ago
Why is his stance different in batting practice than in game? Genuinely curious. Does anyone know? If this has been asked and answered before I apologize.
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u/Aravinda82 14h ago
It’s not different. The first part of the video where he has his bat on his shoulder is just warming up. The latter part of the video he’s using his in game swing.
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u/I_Have_No_Flair Kiké Hernández 11h ago
I'm glad he spent yesterday doing batting practice. He might actually feel better but didn't realize until recently that his injury affected his swing/timing. Seeing him at BP makes me more inclined to believe that he is trying to physically tweak it back to normal and to unlearn bad habits caused by playing through the pain. I have hope he got the feedback he needed to get that exquisite mind/body muscle memory back.
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u/c_c_c__combobreaker Alex Vesia 7h ago
Shohei is the greatest baseball player of all time -- not only in our generation, OF ALL TIME. If he says he can play, he can play. It's not an ego thing because when was the last time Shohei showed he had an ego?
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u/madseankr 13h ago edited 13h ago
Id still bat him leadoff. You ride and die with him. The whole team cant hit.
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u/Snooptalian 13h ago
Then I guess you die. No way this version of Ohtani should be in the lineup, let alone leadoff or cleanup for crying out loud. Same with Smith and his .045...
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u/matsuya Back-2-Back Champs 11h ago
There’s a post calling for a legendary performance in today’s game. He’s going to get on base with a bunt? Is that the bar he’s set for himself?
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u/AdamantArmadillo Player To Be Named Later 10h ago
Not sure if he does that regularly, but I know some guys will start their BP with bunts just as a warm up for hand-eye coordination and to feel the bat on the ball. Doesn't necessarily mean he's planning on bunting in-game.
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u/matsuya Back-2-Back Champs 10h ago
I mean, he should be bunting.
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u/Saucy_Chef_714 Back-2-Back Champs 9h ago
The Dodgers don’t bunt much. The teams that use it quite a bit have gained good on base using it. Maybe we should use it more for strategy and to move runners on base. Our bats aren’t consistent enough to count on small ball.
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u/Fat_Tony_Damico Kiké Hernández 10h ago
Did anyone else notice that Sho was lacking power even at the start of the season? Like he’s had a nagging minor strain or something the entire time. Not just August and after.
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u/toaddodger Los Angeles Dodgers 8h ago
I'm going to guess that after the season we hear about an oblique injury. To me it looks like he can't turn on a ball and he's late, which hints at an oblique issue, not a bicep. So he's basically looking for a ball away to drive that he can catch up to, but is flying them out to left or striking out since it's not the pitch it usually goes after.
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u/spookylampshade Hyeseong Kim 11h ago
He’s bunting 😭
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u/AdamantArmadillo Player To Be Named Later 10h ago
Not sure if he does that regularly, but I know some guys will start their BP with bunts just as a warm up for hand-eye coordination and to feel the bat on the ball. Doesn't necessarily mean he's planning on bunting in-game.
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u/notsosoftwhenhard 2025 World Series Champions 10h ago
here comes all the keyboard future MLB TOP PROSPECTS criticizing OHTANI's swing LOL
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u/milkboy33 Jackie Robinson 9h ago
I think having a second kid is taking away his energy.
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u/imthejavafox Back-2-Back Champs 5h ago
It's the fact that he's been injured most of the season. And he's stacked injuries because he hasn't really rested. He's had problems with his elbow, shoulder, and knee, which keeps swelling.
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u/Sufficient-Till4041 7h ago
Two under two has to be a nightmare plus his wife is likely extremely overwhelmed
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u/Excellent-Program333 6h ago
I am quite confident he has alot of hired help! My best friend is a dr as well as hiswife. They had three “nannies”. Including night shift.
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u/Sufficient-Till4041 6h ago
Of course they do but it doesn’t mean sleep isn’t affected. Also the wife has left everything she has ever known, can’t speak the language, and has zero family here.
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u/iatethething Kiké Hernández 7h ago
The dude is human and humans get injured, a lot of "fans" don't understand this. I hope he finds what they need to get the spark going
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14h ago
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u/Dodgers-ModTeam 11h ago
Your post was removed due to being a duplicate of a recent post.
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u/Dahleh-Llama Miguel Rojas 13h ago
It's like the Moonstars took all his powers away. His ABs are so sad to watch.
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u/floydmaseda 11h ago
Why was the annoying music necessary
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u/Willing_Contest_5071 Back-2-Back Champs 11h ago
Put on mute, problem solved. I didn’t put the music in, was from bleed los dodgers YT vids
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u/parteetaco 10h ago
Put in HSK. Put in JDP! Let the kids play!! Ohtani had his chance!! He is not right rn. He needs to sit out !!!
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u/nanao2018 Kiké Hernández 14h ago
I’m sorry Shohei struggles with injury. I hope he can find a way to hit or be good at bat soon.