Cricket bats to sunflower seeds: How Shohei Ohtani’s comfort (and play) is improving
LA TimesFor much of a three-hour rain delay at Wrigley Field on Sunday, Dodgers hitters gathered in the warmth of the stadium’s recently renovated indoor hitting cages. Having gone hitless in his first two at-bats before the fourth-inning delay, Shohei Ohtani dug into the Dodgers so-called “toy bag” of atypical training equipment — a collection of tennis rackets and ball launchers and “all kinds of stuff,” hitting coach Aaron Bates said, the team keeps around to help vary the daily routines of players. “Shohei took a liking to it.” Based on the way Ohtani has played lately, the same can seemingly be said about the two-way star’s comfort level with his new team. “I’m thinking about doing it again today,” Ohtani laughed before Monday’s game, in which he added two more doubles and his third home run of the season. Dodgers Plaschke: Shohei Ohtani’s first Dodgers home run lands in fan controversy Ambar Roman and her husband felt pressured by the Dodgers to give up the Shohei Ohtani home run ball she caught.