It’s March. In less than 3 weeks, the Dodgers and the Padres will play the first game of the season in Seoul, South Korea. Shohei Ohtani, who’s a 2-time AL MVP award winner and inked a 10-year deal with the Dodgers during the offseason, already smashed the first home run in the Dodgers uniform in spring training games. While watching Ohtani begin to play for the Dodgers, I began to think about what Ohtani might achieve this season.
Well, Ohtani led the AL with 44 home runs in 2023. In the 2024 season, let’s focus on home runs first.
Previously, Ohtani played 6 seasons for the Los Angeles Angels, hitting .274/.366/.556 with 171 home runs and 437 RBI over 716 games. Those 171 home runs came from 24 MLB teams. Since the Angels are in the AL West, most of those home runs came from the games against AL West teams. In particular, he crushed 19 home runs against the Rangers, smashed 18 HRs against the A’s and blasted 17 home runs against the Mariners. Meanwhile, he had 14 home runs against the Astros.
As Ohtani used to blast at least 1 home run against 24 MLB teams, there are 6 teams that Ohtani still hasn’t blasted any home runs against. Those 6 teams are the Giants, the Marlins, the Phillies, the Cardinals, the Nationals and, of course, the team that he previously played for, the Los Angeles Angels.
So, in Ohtani’s first season in the Dodgers uniform, it could be possible to see him reach a milestone, which is that he has at least 1 home run against 30 MLB teams. Hence, it’s worth taking a note to mark the dates of the games against those 6 teams.
Firstly, the Dodgers will host the Cardinals at Dodger stadium from March 28 to March 31. Ohtani’s batting average is over .400 against the Cardinals thus far. If Ohtani hits his first home run at Dodger stadium in this series, it will be wonderful for the Dodgers fans. Additionally, there will be a 3-game series in St. Louis from August 16 to August 18.
Following the 4-game series against the Cardinals at the end of March, the Dodgers will host the Giants at home from April 1 to April 3. It’s a 3-game series and in 2024, the Dodgers and the Giants will face each other 13 times. If Ohtani stays healthy, it shouldn’t be difficult for Ohtani to crush a home run against the Giants. Also in April, the Dodgers will host the Nationals from April 15 to April 17. Ohtani used to play 5 games against the Nationals, however, his batting average is only .167 against the Nationals. Moreover, the Dodgers will travel to Washington, D.C. from April 23 to April 25. Thus, in April, it would be possible to see Ohtani achieve several milestones.
In addition, the Dodgers will host the Marlins from May 6 to May 8 at Dodger stadium and they will travel to Miami from September 17 to September 19. By far in his career, Ohtani’s batting average against the Marlins is only .148. Furthermore, the Dodgers will play against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park from July 9 to July 11. Then, the Dodgers will host the Phillies from August 5 to August 7.
Finally, it must be entertaining to watch the Dodgers play against the Angels. The Freeway Series will take place at Dodger stadium on June 21 and June 22. And on September 3 and September 4, the series will be played at Angel stadium.
Shohei Ohtani’s signing with the Dodgers was the biggest news in the offseason. As the 2024 regular season will start soon, spotlights will be on Ohtani for sure. It will be worthwhile to see if Ohtani can hit as well as he did in 2023. And there are so many cool things worth watching. When will Ohtani crush his first home run in the Dodgers uniform? It might not be easy to hit at least a home run against 30 MLB teams, however, Ohtani could reach it. Will Ohtani eventually reach this milestone?
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