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The story
Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani sat out for a second consecutive game against the Nationals on September 4 (September 5 JST). He appeared on the bench in the late innings, joined the team’s celebration huddle after the win, then immediately bolted back behind the bench and hurried out of the stadium the moment the game ended. In 5ch’s live-thread discussion, opinions were split over why he refuses to go on the injured list (IL) despite carrying an injury, and how to judge him dutifully showing up on the bench even while sidelined. Some posters sarcastically noted “the lineup’s been dead ever since Ohtani stopped playing,” while others voiced concern about the state of his neck, biceps, and knee.
Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani sat out the Nationals game at home on the 4th (5th JST), marking his second straight day of rest. He headed straight home right after the game — a “lightning-fast exit” for the second day in a row.
After appearing on the bench late in the game and joining the victory huddle, he suddenly took off running behind the bench, making a “lightning-fast” getaway.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Mentally strong in a way, I suppose.
It's right there in his elementary school yearbook essay —
'Types of people Ohtani dislikes':
'people who kill the vibe' ←…wait, huh?
he's not even playing anyway.
Nah, there's still cheering the team on —
being part of the team's unity is basically an obligation.
Not showing up on the bench at all would've been really bad.
Think about the team for once.
Maybe there's a pay-cut clause in his contract?
It's because he's not thinking about it at all.
Didn't need to go and run either, honestly —
it's just cringe on every level.
Matsui used to go hang out at his teammates' houses all the time back in his Yankees days.
Seriously just in the way, lol.
It's starting to look doubtful Ohtani can pull that off, though he might still manage it if he focused on pitching alone.
The 'flash in the pan' type (lit. 'peak gust of wind') tends to get remembered later wrapped in romance — but also for poor self-management and reckless spending.
He wasn't even cheering until the 7th inning though…
That's exactly why it's so bad.
In Japan, a pitcher who isn't starting doesn't need to be on the bench, but in the majors, not pitching doesn't mean you're off the team —
you're still expected to travel with the club and cheer them on.
Since they come from 'hunter' stock (a common internet trope contrasting Western individualism with Japan's 'farmer' culture), their tradition of team unity runs way stricter than Japanese people tend to assume.
Getting paid something like 100 billion yen and still being called useless.
Oh right, he's still only in year 3 with the Dodgers.
If he retires early, he might end up worse off than a death-row inmate (hyperbole about how brutal the fallout from his contract terms would be).
I bet the gambling scandal gets dragged back up too.
The media's already struggling to keep covering for him, so the coverage itself is shrinking — they'll probably just gloss over it.
This is exactly how he fades into the background.
Even a sloppy Dodgers team wouldn't have everyone chasing the first pitch into a second-base grounder over and over.
Six hits yesterday, five today — how is that 'hot'?
That's all thanks to Smith, you idiot.
Neck, biceps, and knee.
He's not even that well-liked to begin with.
Sounds like the Djokovic thing then — mechanical, not heartfelt.
Found actual footage of it lol
Lmao, they're spinning this into some heartwarming story.
He's definitely the odd one out on this team.
Is this really a heartwarming story though?
Could also read as him getting kind of mocked lol
Background and key points of this discussion
In MLB, players generally travel with the team and sit on the bench even for games they’re not playing in, unless placed on the injured list (IL) — unlike Japanese baseball, where a pitcher who isn’t starting is typically treated as fully off duty. What split opinion in the thread was how to judge Ohtani showing up on the bench in line with this custom: some saw it as “fulfilling his obligation,” while others countered that “showing his face and bolting right after is obligation in name only.” Some posters speculated a pay-cut clause in his contract might explain his reluctance to go on the IL, but this is speculation — not something officially announced by the team or Ohtani himself. Comments naming his neck, biceps, and knee as the injured areas should also be treated with caution, since none of these have been officially confirmed as the injury sites.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nanademo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] Shohei Ohtani shows up on the bench in the 8th, then the moment the game ends, suddenly takes off running for home wwwwwwwwwwww.”
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