The Los Angeles Dodgers are the cream of the crop in Major League Baseball, having won two straight World Series, and being heavily favored to threepeat this year. That’s elite status, and it only comes with an elite lineup, which the Dodgers most certainly have at every position. But with all that star power and fire power, one Dodger rises to the top: four-time MLB MVP Shohei Ohtani.
Not just the best Dodger, but arguably the best player in the bigs, Ohtani does things on the diamond that nobody else can even think about doing, including being elite in both hitting and pitching… surpassing even the great Babe Ruth with such dynamic duality. With NBC and Peacock‘s Opening Day coverage of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers coming up Thursday evening, let’s take a look at just what makes Shoehi Ohtani such a global phenom.
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What to know about Los Angeles Dodgers’ MVP Shohei Ohtani’s baseball career thus far
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers jogs back to the dugout during the first inning of a MLB spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels.
Born July 5, 1994 in Mizusawa, Iwate, Japan, Shohei “Shotime” Ohtani first played pro ball in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. From 2013 through 2017, he pitched and played in the outfield for the Fighters, helping them win the 2016 Japan Series.
Ohtani headed to the bigs for the 2018 season to play for the Los Angeles Angels, where he won the American League Rookie of the Year Award. Injuries took their toll in the following two seasons, but Ohtani showed the world the two-way unicorn he is in 2021, winning his first MVP while hitting 46 home runs and striking out 156 batters. He won his second unanimous American League MVP in 2023, bashing 44 homers while winning double digit games as a pitcher.
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So he was already quite the big deal, but his popularity exploded when, after the 2023 season, he signed a whopping 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which remains the biggest contract in professional sports history. Though an injury kept him from pitching in 2024, he still won his first National League MVP after becoming the first MLB player to ever notch 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season. The Dodgers went on to win their first World Series with Ohtani.
Somehow, Ohtani topped himself in 2025 by returning to pitching, hitting a Dodgers’ franchise record 55 homers, and winning a second consecutive NL MVP unanimously, making him the only player to win multiple MVP awards in both the American League and National League. And then the Dodgers won the World Series yet again!
How rare is it for Shohei Otani to excel at both hitting and pitching?
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws a pitch in the third inning during a Spring Training game against the San Francisco Giants.
In 2021, Ohtani received the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award to commemorate his unprecedented domination as both a starting pitcher and a full-time hitter. Then in 2022, he became the first player in the modern era to be among the league leaders in both hitting and pitching in a single season. Since then, he’s proven time and again he’s one of one going both ways, cemented forever by his historic performance in Game 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers in last year’s NLCS sweep, when Ohtani hit three home runs as a hitter and pitched six-plus scoreless innings including 10 strikeouts.
All told, Ohtani’s career MLB batting stats include a .282 batting average, 1050 hits, 280 home runs, 669 RBIs, and 165 stolen bases, alongside a 39–20 win–loss record, 3.00 earned run average, and 670 strikeouts from the mound. The only comparable player in the history of the game would be the legend Babe Ruth, who played from 1914 through 1935, and dominated as a hitter and pitcher at different periods during his career, though he really only pitched and hit simultaneously during his early career with the Boston Red Sox, from 1915-1919.
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Meet Shohei Ohtani’s dog, Decoy
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and his dog Decoy delivers a ceremonial first before the game against the Baltimore Orioles.
As if that’s not enough reason to love Ohtani, here’s one more: Decoy, his dog, a Dutch Kooikerhondje, who actually threw out the ceremonious first pitch at a Dodgers game in 2024. Decoy, decked in his own jersey, waited at the pitcher’s mound until Ohtani signaled the dog to grab a ball and run home, which he did just perfectly, followed by a well-executed high-five, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Ohtani also wrote a children’s book about Decoy, “Decoy Saves Opening Day,” with proceeds from the book supporting needy animal shelters.
The initial idea was, basically, I had my daughter coming soon,” Ohtani told NBC News earlier this year. “So timing-wise, I felt it was … a nice time to maybe be able to read her a book about my story, as well as our dog Decoy’s story. That it’d be kind of cool if we could do that together.”
How can you watch Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers on MLB Opening Day?
NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2026 MLB kicks off Opening Day on NBC and Peacock, beginning Thursday, March 26 at 1 p.m. ET with the Pittsburgh Pirates visiting the New York Mets at Citi Field. Then at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, catch Shohei Otani in the only primetime game on Opening Day, as the Arizona Diamondbacks visit the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Did You Know MLB Is Back on NBC and Peacock?
The MLB is back on NBC and Peacock this season with the addition of Sunday Night Baseball in primetime and plenty of Peacock-exclusive games on the slate this season. Find the full schedule right here.
The line-up features plenty of storied rivalries from across the league. Sunday Night Baseball will be home to division rivalry games including Diamondbacks-Dodgers (March 26); Braves-Phillies (April 19); Tigers-Royals (May 10); Rangers-Angels (May 24); Cubs-Cardinals (May 31); Mets-Phillies (June 21); Yankees-Red Sox (June 28); Padres-Dodgers (July 5); Mariners-Astros (August 16); and Padres-Giants (Sept. 13). Catch it all on Peacock right here.
MLB Activations for Opening Day: in NYC or California this week? Get ready for opening day with massive “baseballs” embedded outside MLB’s New York headquarters and at Universal CityWalk Hollywood, featuring tune-in for NBC’s games this week!
Fans can also find a “basepath” leading from the giant baseball outside MLB’s headquarters to NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Center headquarters. There, fans can take swings in batting cages; try out their fastball with speed clocks for measuring them; enjoy photo ops with the World Series trophy; and catch all the action with a viewing screen to watch the opening day games!