The Dodgers star is turning 32 years old. Major League Baseball made a special post on social media to honor him.
Ohtani is having an excellent season pitching and hitting for the Dodgers. His pitching performances have put him in the running to win the National League Cy Young award. Ohtani has a 1.79 ERA on the year, with eight wins.
The Dodgers star has been injured in recent days, with bicep problems. He may be back in the lineup for Los Angeles on Sunday.
“It’s the same location that I felt a couple months ago,” Ohtani said about his injury through an interpreter, per MLB.com. “It went away pretty relatively quickly [last time], so I expect that to happen again. … On the swing, I did feel it, but I was able to play through it.”
The Dodgers are considering resting Ohtani, instead of making him take the mound for his next scheduled start.
“We don’t need to make that decision today, tomorrow, the next day, so we have time,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And I think for us it’s just more of reading and reacting on how he feels.”
Ohtani has won back-to-back World Series titles with the Dodgers. In the league’s birthday post, MLB also reported other honors Ohtani has won.
“AL Rookie of the Year, 4x MVP, 6x All-Star, 4x Silver Slugger,” the post read in part.
The Dodgers play the San Diego Padres on Sunday night. Los Angeles is first in the National League West, with a 59-31 record.
