Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Reveals All His Goals for 2025 Season
Growing up, Shohei Ohtani always had big aspirations for his baseball career.
The four-time All-Star wrote down a list of his life goals when he was in high school. Ohtani wanted to win two World Series titles by the time was 32.
So far, Ohtani has won one World Series title with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But the Japanese-born two-way player will turn 31 in July, leaving him with just two more seasons to accomplish his goal.
“I think it’s always good to be early on your goals,” Ohtani said to Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci. “So hopefully I can wrap up a second World Series this year.”
More news: Shohei Ohtani Admits He Was Nervous in Dodgers’ Season Opening Win Over Cubs in Japan
The Dodgers all seem to be on the same page about their major goal this season, which is to win back-to-back World Series titles. Los Angeles kept most of their star players and added talented pieces like starting pitchers Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki to their roster in 2025.
Los Angeles is also getting a “better” version of the 2024 National League Most Valuable Player.
Ohtani became the first player to win the award exclusively as a designated hitter last season. But this season he will also begin contributing on the mound.
Ohtani has not pitched since 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels after sustaining an elbow injury. He acknowledged that one of his main goals this season is to remain healthy as he prepares to make his pitching debut with the Dodgers.
“But at the same time, I am coming back as a pitcher this year,” Ohtani said to Verducci. “So, for me, I just want to be able to pitch and be healthy for the whole season this year.”
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The Dodgers and Ohtani agreed to slow down the right-hander’s pitching progression to prevent injury as he begins to ramp up as a hitter. As a result, his May debut was potentially postponed, and there is currently no confirmed date for Ohtani’s debut.
But whenever he does return, all eyes will certainly be on Ohtani.
Photo Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
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Shohei Ohtani, Japan series success give MLB momentum heading into season
TOKYO — There was the crack of Shohei Ohtani’s bat, the roars from the Tokyo Dome crowd and the beeps from the credit card machines at the massive merchandise center selling boatloads of Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs gear.
It all must have been music to the ears of Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.
The 2025 season couldn’t have had a much better start for the sport, which showcased its international appeal over the past week in Japan. The Tokyo Dome hosted a capacity crowd of roughly 42,000 for all four games — two exhibitions against Japanese teams and two regular-season games — and thousands more came downtown to enjoy the spectacle of a wildly successful overseas trip.
