Major League Baseball is home to many outstanding pitchers, but among them are those who can truly be called legends. One of them is Clayton Kershaw, who became Ohtani’s teammate starting in 2024.

Kershaw is six years older than Ohtani and, over the course of his career, has made 432 appearances, recorded 212 wins, maintained a career ERA of 2.50, and won the Cy Young Award three times—all while spending his entire career with the Dodgers.

He is unquestionably the cornerstone of the Dodgers’ pitching staff and is widely expected to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Although injuries limited him significantly in 2024, his presence remains invaluable to both the team and its pitchers.

In the 2022 All-Star Game, Ohtani faced Kershaw of the National League.

When asked how he would approach the matchup, Ohtani answered in English, “Swing through the first pitch. That’s it.”

He followed through on that approach, but Kershaw’s fastball broke his bat. Even so, the ball dropped into center field for a hit, allowing Ohtani to reach base.

Kershaw later joked, “Since it didn’t go over the fence, I win.”

Ohtani, however, expressed his frustration, saying, “For me, I wanted it to be either a home run or a swing and miss. A halfway result like that doesn’t sit right with me.”

To add to the moment, Ohtani was later picked off at first base by Kershaw.

It was likely a matchup from which Ohtani learned a great deal.

Source

This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.

Sho-Time 2.0: Shohei Ohtani’s Quest for World No.1, p.68