Shohei Ohtani is off to a dreadful start in Arizona. The two-way star is 2-14 in the batter’s box this spring, which is a small enough sample size to ignore, except when you consider his lack of contact. He has nine strikeouts in just 18 plate appearances.
It’s hard enough for a pitcher to return from Tommy John surgery, going through the process of rehabbing, building up arm strength, and re-learning proper mechanics; now imagine doing that while tinkering with a new approach as a major league hitter.
Shohei Ohtani says he is taking baby steps as he experiments with bringing back his leg kick to recover lost power in his swing.