Mookie Betts Defends Shohei Ohtani Amid Uncharacteristic Slump
Despite ranking as one of the top hitters in the National League so far this season, Los Angeles Dodger superstar Shohei Ohtani has been slightly underperforming at the plate in 2026. He has slashed . 265/.
392/. 458 with a . 850 OPS and just seven home runs in 47 games.
After coming off back-to-back seasons hitting 50+ home runs, these statistics are not what fans are used to seeing from the defending NL Most Valuable Player. Ohtani may not be hitting as well as he normally does. But Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts explained how Ohtani is still dominating the game in other ways.
“If he doesn’t get a hit or it doesn’t maybe have a couple bad games, it’s like what’s wrong with Shohei? ” Betts said on a recent episode of “On Base With Mookie Betts”. “Well, I mean he did just go seven innings, you know, two hits.
He does have a 0. 7 ERA. You forget all the other ways that he really affects the game.