Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Somehow Still Dominating MLB Despite Brutal Slump

The Major League Baseball season is long. It's a 162-game marathon and you're not typically going to see a guy play well over the course of an entire season.

Slumps happen. There could be months where a guy is red-hot, but even they will get into slumps at points as well. It's only natural when you have a season this long. The 2020 shortened 60-game campaign was one where you did see a few guys start the season hot and carry it over the entire 60-day stretch. But 162 games are too many for anybody to play well the entire time. Even if your name is Shohei Ohtani.

The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar doesn't have a feel at the plate right now. Ohtani has been excellent on the mound, but he is 4-for-38 over his last 11 games. In those 11 games, Ohtani slashed .105/.261/.132 with a brutal .392 OPS to go along with three RBIs and two stolen bases. Overall, Ohtani has played in 38 games and is slashing .233/.363/.404 with six homers, 16 RBIs, five stolen bases and a .767 OPS. That's certainly not Ohtani-like. So much so that ESPN's Alden González shared on X that the last time Ohtani's OPS began with a seven this late into the season, it was 2022.

MLB Fans Have To See Shohei Ohtani In Action

May 11, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) grounds out in the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

That year, Ohtani finished the campaign with 34 homers, 95 RBIs and a .273/.356/.519 with an .875 OPS. He was good, but he wasn't as electric as he has been over the last three seasons as he has won three straight Most Valuable Player Awards.

It's intriguing to follow Ohtani and there isn't likely going to be another player in big league history like him. There at least hasn't been another player like him so far beforehand. Ohtani is clearly not having an offensive season up to his standards yet in 2026. But on the flip side, he's off to the best start of his career on the mound. Ohtani has made six starts and has a 0.97 ERA and a 42-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 37 innings pitched. If he keeps this up throughout the 2026 season, there's a real chance he'll be in the mix for the National League Cy Young Award, which would be wild.

Ohtani isn't getting on base like he's used to. But he's still dominant from a pitching standpoint. No matter which team you root for, you've got to see Ohtani if you can and this is a big example of why. Again, he's struggling offensively, but because he does both well, he's still dominating.

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