GLENDALE, ARIZONA – FEBRUARY 28: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a home run during the first inning of the spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels at Camelback Ranch on February 28, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jeremy Chen/Getty Images)
Shohei Ohtani stepped into the batter's box against his former team on Friday night for the first time this spring.
His first Cactus League at-bat of 2025, had more anticipation than the opening weekend of a Marvel movie, but that didn't deter the best player in baseball.
For the first time in his career, Ohtani stepped into the box as a reigning champion, a National League MVP, and with a World Series ring soon to be wrapped around his finger. So with his first swing of the spring, he naturally reminded the entire world why he's the biggest star in baseball.
On the very first pitch he saw, Ohtani launched a leadoff home run against his former team, the Los Angeles Angels. The ball left his bat with the kind of effortless violence only he can generate, soaring into the Arizona sunset as if it had a predetermined destination.
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It was poetic. It was inevitable. It was Shohei Ohtani.
Shohei Ohtani's first at-bat of #SpringTraining ...
— MLB (@MLB) March 1, 2025
Shohei Ohtani's first HOME RUN of Spring Training! pic.twitter.com/k1fScI5BrD
If this scene feels familiar, it’s because we’ve seen it before.
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A year ago, in his first spring training at-bat with the Dodgers, Ohtani homered against the White Sox, an early preview of what would become a historic offensive season. Fifty-four home runs. Fifty-nine stolen bases. A third unanimous MVP award. A championship ring.
And now, just as he did in 2024, he wasted no time reminding everyone that the legend is far from finished.
Friday’s game was more than just another spring training contest—it was a collision of past and present. The Angels were the team that brought Ohtani to Major League Baseball, the organization that watched him redefine the sport but failed to build a winner around him.
Now, they’re just another opponent.
Ohtani’s decision to leave Anaheim was about more than just money—it was about competing at the highest level, playing October baseball, and ultimately winning it all. The Dodgers gave him that opportunity in Year 1, and now, with a clean bill of health and a dynasty in the making, he’s chasing even more.
His return to the mound is still an open question, with Roberts confirming he won’t pitch in the Dodgers’ opening series in Tokyo against the Cubs on March 18-19. But if Friday night proved anything, it’s that Ohtani’s bat alone is enough to shape the course of a season.
A leadoff home run. A familiar swing. A reminder of why Shohei Ohtani is unlike anyone baseball has ever seen.
Some things change. Some things stay the same. And Shohei Ohtani hitting home runs in his spring training debut? That’s just baseball’s version of a sure thing.
