Should Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani be granted extra time to warm up as a pitcher after he hits?
That was a big question this week coming out of the Dodgers’ series against the Blue Jays in Toronto, and it was a topic of discussion on the latest episode of “Baseball Bar-B-Cast.” Of course, it wasn’t the first time this question has come up, as it was also a source of discussion during the 2025 World Series.
Ohtani pitched Wednesday against the Blue Jays and was granted some extra time to warm up in the bottom of the first inning after being on base in the top of the frame. During that time, the broadcast showed Toronto leadoff hitter George Springer asking a question of the umpire and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts looking agitated.
After the game, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Mintz asked Roberts about that. “I was like, ‘Dave, what was that about?’” he said on the podcast. “And his answer was totally fine, in my opinion.”
Here’s Roberts’ full quote: “Just talking about the World Series, I think they were a little frustrated about how long Shohei takes in between innings. But if he’s on the bases, there’s got to be some grace, which the umpires are trying to give him. Yeah, if you’re on the other side, you’re trying to rush him as much as possible and treat him like any other pitcher. But the truth is he’s different. But I understand their gripe.”
Jordan Shusterman pointed out that some parts of Roberts’ answer were posted and shared without the full context, but in full, the manager’s response seems pretty reasonable. “The ‘he’s different’ and ‘there has to be some grace’ makes it sound like, if you don’t watch the whole clip, Roberts is like, ‘Sorry, this guy is more special than everybody else’ — which, by the way, he is,” he said. “But that was, I think, taken out and read as, ‘This is a ridiculous answer,’ and I didn’t understand that.”
As Shusterman pointed out, it’s totally fair for a hitter in Springer’s situation to be curious and to simply want to know how much time is being allotted so that he can plan accordingly.
“It’s also important for the batter to know when he needs to be in the batter’s box so that he’s not penalized,” he said.
Mintz made the point that while Ohtani is getting extra time compared to the other pitchers in the game today, he isn’t getting extra time compared to the preexisting standard for pitchers who hit.
When pitchers in the National League used to hit, Mintz noted, if a pitcher was on base at the end of an inning or finished the inning as a hitter, umpires granted that pitcher more time to get ready for the next inning. Even with the pitch clock today, that standard should still apply.
“Ohtani, being the only pitcher now that hits, in my opinion, is entitled to that same standard,” he said. “He is a different category. He’s being treated differently because he is quite literally doing something that no one else is doing.”
Perhaps, Mintz suggested, a specific amount of time should be set and communicated. “To end this debate, you would just say, ‘Oh, Ohtani gets 30 extra seconds.’
“Just write, ‘A pitcher that was on base during the previous inning is allotted 30 extra seconds of warm-up time.’ And then it’s like, OK, it’s in the rulebook. We’ve fudged the rules for Ohtani before. I don’t think that would be the end of the world.”