Mookie Betts understands what Shohei Ohtani is dealing with in this National League Championship Series.
Betts knows what can occur to a once-dangerous swing when a hitter takes the area with bodily limitations.
Two years in the past, Betts was struck by a 98 mph fastball and fractured his left hand.
“It’s really, really hard,” Betts said. “It took me almost like two years before I was able to really kind of feel normal again and get those bad habits out.”
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts waits by the batting cage during a exercise forward of Game 3 of baseball’s National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Before he was positioned on the injured listing in September, Ohtani said he was experiencing discomfort in his proper arm and left knee. Asked on Tuesday what was bothering Ohtani, Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts said, “It’s everything.”
“When you’re hurt, you just want to play,” Betts said. “So you’ll make adjustments to the swing or to your body so you can play. Then you don’t want to hurt while you play, so you make the adjustments to where your body doesn’t feel it. Sometimes it’s to the detriment of who you are as a player, and you don’t really realize it.”
Betts imagined that navigating the state of affairs would be more tough for Ohtani because of his stature.
“I couldn’t imagine really kind of having the expectations that he has and falling short in a way that it’s not normal for him. Then having to come back and be present in this postseason knowing how important he is to the boys.”
Ohtani is hitting .150 in the postseason.
“He’s trying,” Betts said. “It’s just actually, actually onerous. It’s actually onerous to make these slight changes in this brief quantity of time. Like I said, it took me virtually two years. I really feel for him. I know he’s grinding, he’s working. So we’ll just see. We’ll see how he comes and prepares.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani swings at a pitch during the third inning of Game 2 of baseball’s National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Milwaukee. AP Photo/Abbie Parr
“But I know he’s giving it his all. We know he’s giving it his all. We can at least lay our heads on a pillow at night knowing that we’ve given it everything.”
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