Why Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Hit 2nd in Spring Training Debut
Shohei Ohtani's debut with the Dodgers on Tuesday afternoon included some real fireworks.
The $700 million-dollar man clubbed an opposite-field home during L.A.'s 9-6 win over the Chicago White Sox. The anticipation for Ohtani's debut was felt the day he announced he was committing to the franchise.
Since then, plenty of conjecture has been percolating around Ohtani's placement in the batting order. With Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman entrenched at the top of the order for the past couple of years, many wondered where Manager Dave Roberts would slot Ohtani in.
Ohtani was inserted in the two-hole on Tuesday — smack-dab between Betts and Freeman. Roberts elaborated further on what went behind the decision to place Ohtani second in the batting order:
It was a bit of a plot twist by Roberts. There was a line of thinking where you'd have Ohtani bat third. Betts and Freeman both get on base a lot and naturally, you'd want someone batting third with the ability to drive them in.
On the other hand, this move could've possibly spoken to Ohtani's ideal preference from a comfortability standpoint. Historically speaking, he crushes the baseball batting second. Freeman is a doubles machine, and Ohtani is a superior baserunner from a pure speed standpoint.
With that in mind, a Freeman double could very well score Ohtani from first base. The same might not be true if the roles between the two were reversed.
Realistically speaking, the difference between batting second and third is negligible when you're as good as Ohtani and Freeman. Number-3 hitters receive a slightly smaller share of their team's plate appearances over the course of a season than number-2 hitters.
As the season progresses, it'll be fascinating to see whether Roberts sticks with this order for the remainder of the year — or perhaps tinkers with positioning.
