Shohei Ohtani shoulder injury during the 2024 World Series was apparently a little worse than the Los Angeles Dodgers were letting on.
The Dodgers announced Tuesday, coincidentally coinciding with Election Day, that their superstar had undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder resulting from his bad slide in Game 2 against the New York Yankees. York. He should be ready for spring training.
Shohei Ohtani today underwent successful arthroscopic surgery, performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, to repair a torn labrum resulting from a dislocated left shoulder on October 26. He should be ready for spring training.
– Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 5, 2024
This will be the second year in a row that Ohtani has undergone major surgery, as he needed an internal brace to repair a torn UCL in his throwing arm late last season. He spent all of 2024 rehabbing that elbow while hitting for the Dodgers.
Ohtani was injured when he landed hard on his left arm in the seventh round. He was clearly in pain and was escorted off the field by trainers, who the Japanese believe told him the shoulder was out.
It was a scene that stunned a previously jubilant Dodger Stadium, but the Dodgers indicated after the game that the injury was only a minor subluxation. He was in the lineup for Game 3 two days later..
Ohtani struggled to make hard contact for the rest of the series, however, and now it makes a little more sense. He went a combined 1-for-14 with no extra-base hits in Games 3, 4 and 5, after hitting .260/.403/.460 in his first 13 career playoff games.
It was very clear that Ohtani was still suffering from some sort of discomfort, as he ran awkwardly holding his collar with his left hand when he had to run the bases.
This World Series performance was a quiet end to one of the greatest seasons in MLB history. Despite his struggles, Ohtani will still leave 2024 with his first ring, a presumed third MVP trophy and the first 50-50 season in MLB history, all after joining the Dodgers for a record $700 million contract on 10 years.
Ohtani wasn’t the only Dodger to overcome pain during the postseason, as it was also recently revealed that World Series MVP Freddie Freeman played with broken rib cartilagein addition to a sprained ankle and residual pain from a broken finger in August.
