David Finley just completed in his ninth season as the Dodgers’ vice president, scouting. He wasn’t the only voice in the team’s front office advocating to sign Shohei Ohtani two years ago, but perhaps no one had a more effusive assessment of Ohtani’s talent.
Finley was on Ohtani when he worked for the Boston Red Sox, and Ohtani had yet to matriculate from high school in Japan. Back then, Ohtani was turning heads more for his pitching talent than his hitting talent.
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“We knew he could hit,” Finley told Forbes’ John Perrotto. “But hitting in high school is a lot different than hitting in pro ball. Absolutely, we didn’t know he was that good a hitter.”
Ohtani debuted in NPB, the top league in Japan, as an 18-year-old in 2013. By 2014, he was putting up eye-popping numbers as a pitcher. Facing Japan’s best hitters, Ohtani went 11-4 with a 2.61 ERA, and struck out 179 in 155.1 innings in 2014.
As a hitter, Ohtani slashed .274/.338/.505 that season, beginning to show signs of the power that would come to convince scouts he could make it as a two-way player in Major League Baseball.
Ohtani signed with the Angels in December 2017, and quickly made his mark as the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year. By the time he finalized a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023, Ohtani was a two-time MVP, a three-time All-Star, and a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner.
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“We knew how good he was, but he’s just been a game changer,” Finley told Perrotto. “He’s not just an MVP and a superstar, but signing him changed the franchise. It really did. I mean, we were good before, but to have him and how big a global superstar he is, it’s been awesome.
“And he’s a great guy, a funny, funny guy, a practical joker, very respectful, just a great guy and obviously a unicorn to the sport.”
Ohtani was named National League MVP after leading the league in runs scored (146), slugging percentage (.622) and OPS (1.014) in 2025. As a pitcher, Ohtani went 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 14 regular season starts.
Ohtani was named MVP of the National League Championship Series after helping the Dodgers sweep the Milwaukee Brewers. In the seven-game World Series victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, Ohtani hit three home runs and made two starts on the mound.
Not only has Ohtani raised the bar for his own potential with each season, he’s raised the bar for every two-way player attempting to follow in his footsteps.
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