Ohtani: I Think I Can Strike Myself Out

The five-time All-Star discussed playing both offense and defense growing up and how he brings his experience as a batter to the mound.

Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on July 12, 2025. Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani thinks he can strike himself out.

Ohtani was named to his fifth consecutive All-Star game as a designated hitter. Appearing on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show“ Monday, Ohtani discussed how he grew up playing both offense and defense, but describes himself more as a hitter who learned to pitch than a pitcher who learned to hit. Ohtani also said he takes his experience as a hitter with him on the mound.

The interview began with McAfee asking Ohtani about the incredible physical and mental toll it takes to play both ways, and how he has been able to have success. Ohtani responded that it was just natural for him.

“Of course there’s some hardships, being able to pitch and hit at the same time,” Ohtani said, through interpreter Will Ireton. “But I grew up doing both throughout my whole life ... for me it’s pretty normal.”

McAfee then asked if his bones and muscles were stronger because he plays both ways. Ohtani replied that he grew up very skinny, but through diet and exercise, he was able to put on muscle to the point he is today.

“What are you eating?” McAfee asked.

“I love meat,” Ohtani replied. “A lot of meat.”

Ohtani has followed a rigorous diet and exercise routine to put on muscle mass since he arrived in Major League Baseball. In a 2021 interview with Japanese newspaper The Mainichi, Ohtani’s dietitian said that at one point during the 2021 season, Ohtani was eating seven meals a day, plus supplements. Ohtani reportedly told her, “There are no precedents of people like me in the majors.” That is, he had no model to follow and was trying to figure things out himself.

Ohtani has also put up some impressive numbers in the weight room. In 2020, he posted a video of himself deadlifting 495 pounds to his Instagram page. In an interview clip with the Bat Boys Baseball podcast in 2023, Ohtani said his personal best squat was around 200 kilograms, or 440 pounds.

The regimen has produced visible results. The Athletic beat writer Fabian Ardaya retweeted a post on X in 2020 showing a side-by-side of Ohtani in 2018 and again in 2020, with impressively capped shoulders and visibly larger arms.

Later in the interview, co-host Ty Schmit asked Ohtani if he would rather pitch against himself on a hot hitting streak or bat against himself on a hot hitting streak.

“Could you strike you out?” McAfee interjected.

“I think I can,” Ohtani responded in English, to laughter from the hosts.

“I feel more confident being able to get the hitter version of me out, as a pitcher,” he said, again through Ireton.

McAfee then asked Ohtani whether he wanted to be described more as a pitcher or a batter by the media.

“I feel like I was more talented as a hitter growing up, and it was hard for me to pitch, actually,” Ohtani responded. “So I feel like I’m more of a hitter who learned how to pitch, more than a pitcher learning how to hit.”

McAfee also asked if Ohtani has an advantage as a hitter due to his experience on the mound. Ohtani said the opposite is true.

“I think I have more of a mindset as a pitcher,” he said. “As a pitcher, you kind of know what the hitters don’t want to swing at, so I take that experience as a hitter on the mound.”

Ohtani will start the 2025 All-Star Game Tuesday as the designated hitter for the National League. He was nominated to the Midsummer Classic with 3,967,668 votes in Phase 1 of All-Star voting, leading the National League and second in the majors to New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, who garnered 4.01 million votes. This was his fifth consecutive selection to the All-Star Game; ESPN reported that Ohtani is the first DH to start in 5 consecutive All-Star Games.

McAfee jokingly asked Ohtani what he would throw if McAfee were at the plate.

“High fastball,” Ohtani said.