Shohei Ohtani’s average home run distance has dropped by roughly 10 feet (3 meters), and his swing speed has fallen by about 2 mph, sparking discussion on 5ch’s Live Coverage G board over what’s behind the decline. Theories flew in every direction — some blamed aging, pointing out that Ichiro and Hideki Matsui both hit their career peaks at 31; others suspected a knee issue; still others pointed to the birth of his child and the resulting lifestyle changes, or weight gain from relaxing his diet — with no consensus emerging. On the other hand, some pushed back, noting that an OPS in the .900s is still among the best in all of MLB, and that his sub-2.00 ERA as a pitcher means this hardly counts as a total slump.
What people said
1AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:11
His average home run distance has dropped a full 10 feet (3 meters) — his power's completely gone. What's actually causing this?
14AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:15
Turns out his knee is in really bad shape
22AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:18
Re: #14 That's just an excuse — after a brutal game where his bad at-bats cost the team, he made a big show of wincing over a sore leg to get everyone worried, then showed up fine doing pitching drills the very next day.
15AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:16
Age.
Both Ichiro and Hideki Matsui peaked at 31.
Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki are already 32.
It's all downhill from here.
95AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:15
Re: #15 Ichiro also said he wanted to play as long as possible, but in the end he declined just like everyone else.
20AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:17
His prime sure was short.
Guess there's no reason to treat this guy as special anymore.
21AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:18
Re: #20 He's only in year 3 of that 10-year, ¥100 billion (~$700M) contract though…
25AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:20
This is basically a family problem.
A hitter suddenly turning into a completely different player — the only explanation is the baby.
Lack of sleep, childcare… it's got to be hurting him badly as a ballplayer.
41AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:30
Re: #25 If the kid were the cause, he should've already been falling apart since last year, no?
34AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:27
Guess MLB just lets its superstars do whatever they want.
Ohtani's slumps always drag on forever.
76AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:55
Re: #34 Well, it's a world of contracts and personal responsibility…
38AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:29
MLB: 'Only two active players have hit 30+ home runs six years running — Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber.'
Is this guy some kind of god?
52AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:37
Re: #38 His fanboys genuinely think he's a god.
43AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:33
He should just focus on hitting starting next season.
Teams have pitchers coming out the wazoo anyway.
If he focuses purely on batting, his body will adjust and his power will come back too.
50 home runs would be a breeze — but in exchange, let him play center field.
Ohtani could lead off and man center.
And let him start stealing bases again while he's at it.
45AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:34
Re: #43 He's already like this as just a DH — if he starts playing the field he'll get hurt and be done for good in no time.
58AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:42
The gap between an .900 OPS and a 1.000 OPS is huge.
.900 is still great on paper, but it doesn't feel like he's hitting at all.
63AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:45
Re: #58 'Great' doesn't even cover it — only 6 guys in all of MLB are at that level, it's proof he's elite. Guess he was just absurdly good before this.
72AnonymousAug 31, 2026 11:52
He's had so few high-leverage or clutch hits that he basically plays like a .750 OPS hitter in practice.
Seriously.
123AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:36
Re: #72 This.
He was already like that before, so it's even more true this year.
Re: #86 That's a lot of decisions for the number of appearances — did he just complete every game himself regardless of the score?
92AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:11
He's basically the type who puts on weight easily, so his body's probably going to end up looking like Hideo Nomo's down the line.
93AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:13
Re: #92 Actually he was never that big an eater to begin with — he bulked up through forced diet training, so I bet he slims back down.
96AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:15
Re: #93 Ohtani is clearly the type who gains weight.
Guys like Fujinami are the type who slim down.
100AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:17
Re: #96 Do you not know he was originally skinny and bulked up by force?
101AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:18
With 25 games left, he'll probably finish the regular season batting .291 with 38 home runs.
That's average by Ohtani's own standard, but as a pitcher he had a 1.52 ERA and 0.89 WHIP and was in the Cy Young race until late in the season, so I'd call that a passing grade.
121AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:35
Re: #101 He never even reached the innings minimum, so he was never actually a Cy Young candidate.
124AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:37
Re: #101 Everyone except his fanboys had already written him off the Cy Young race by the middle of the first half.
111AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:31
He's just overweight to begin with.
Compare him to March.
This past March, obviously.
114AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:32
Re: #111 Apparently he's said his 'building a body for the future' phase is over, so now he's eating whatever he wants without holding back.
115AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:32
Re: #111 Isn't it that he can't train properly since getting hurt? It's his knee and his arm, after all.
122AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:36
What about the injury theory?
People started pushing that one hard around the All-Star break.
127AnonymousAug 31, 2026 12:47
Re: #122 Well, his knee really is in bad shape, so injury is definitely a factor. If he's at the point of having fluid drained, it's probably not fully healing either.
132AnonymousAug 31, 2026 13:01
Fine, granted the two-way thing isn't sustainable —
but why does everyone say he should focus on hitting?
Nobody ever says he should focus on pitching instead.
134AnonymousAug 31, 2026 13:05
Re: #132 Because he's more impressive as a hitter.
Also, hitting home runs every day as a DH gives a bigger rush than pitching once a week.
135AnonymousAug 31, 2026 13:05
Re: #132 I think it's that 'Batter Ohtani' is just higher quality.
138AnonymousAug 31, 2026 13:16
Re: #132 Because he can play every single day.
Background and key points of this discussion
Ohtani signed a 10-year contract with the Dodgers starting in 2024 and has kept up his two-way career while posting some of the best hitting numbers in the league — but at 32, people are increasingly starting to frame him as being at ‘an age where decline wouldn’t be surprising.’ The thread’s disagreement centered mainly on the cause: theories about aging, knee or elbow injuries, lifestyle changes from raising a child, and weight gain from relaxed diet management were all thrown out, and the lack of one decisive answer is what kept the debate going. One point worth clarifying is the phrase ‘average hitter’ — as some posters pointed out, an OPS in the .900s is still among the best in all of MLB, so this isn’t a slump in any absolute sense, but rather a drop relative to Ohtani’s own exceptionally high bar. It’s also worth noting, per the pushback in the thread, that with a sub-2.00 ERA as a pitcher, he remains an extraordinary presence as a two-way player overall.
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