Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani already has accomplished much. And he wants more. Much more

PHOENIX — Shohei Ohtani wants to win the World Series.

Again.

He wants to win the World Baseball Classic.

Again.

He also wants to win his first Cy Young Award.

And then do it again.

Ohtani was unusually open on Friday, the ordinarily guarded two-way star revealing his goals and offering insights into his mindset after throwing a 27-pitch bullpen session in the Dodgers’ first workout of the spring for pitchers and catchers.

What Ohtani said confirmed the depths of ambition long described by those close to him.

Ohtani, 31, has won four MVP awards, two World Series and a WBC, but he said he wants more. And more. And more.

“I think that when you’re satisfied, it’s time to finish,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “I don’t feel that way at this point. The opposite way of saying it is that I think I should quit when I do.”

There aren’t many unchecked boxes in his career to-do list, but he said there’s value in checking the same box multiple times.

“Whether it’s winning the World Series or winning the WBC or being the MVP there, it’s not enough to do it once,” Ohtani said. “When you continue to do that, I think that’s when you’re viewed as a first-class player for the first time. Doing it twice is better than doing it once, and doing it three times is better than doing it twice.”

Nevermind that Ohtani proved he was a first-class player five years ago when he won his first MVP award with the Angels. He has already been at Camelback Ranch for close to two weeks. The bullpen session he threw on Friday was his third of the spring.

When manager Dave Roberts said a couple of weeks ago that Ohtani would focus on hitting and not pitch for Japan in the WBC, I wrote that it was a sign that he might have his eyes set on a Cy Young Award.

Ohtani basically said as much on this day.

“If I can get it,” he said, “I think that would be wonderful.”

Makes sense. Why else would a legacy-driven player such as Ohtani sacrifice potential glory in an event considered more prestigious than the World Series in his home country?

Ohtani said of the Cy Young Award, “To just be close would mean I’m pitching the required number of innings. I think the most important thing I have to do is to take my turns in the rotation for an entire year.”

The health of his arm figures to be front and center for Ohtani, who is very much aware that a third elbow operation could turn him into a full-time designated hitter.

“He’s gone through a lot of things,” Roberts said. “As much as people think that he’s not human, he’s still a human being that’s had two major surgeries. He’s got a long career ahead of him.”

Ohtani is under contract for eight more seasons. He underwent his second Tommy John surgery in 2023, his final year with the Angels. He returned to the mound in the middle of last season and went on to post a 2.84 ERA in 14 starts. He pitched four more games in the postseason.

Roberts was encouraged by what he saw.

“I think the thing that was most surprising from last year was his command,” Roberts said. “I’ll say that he still feels his command wasn’t up to par. But given the Tommy John and what typically command looks like the year after, it was above that. That was impressive. Just his ability to command a couple of different breaking balls, to change the shape of his breaking balls, was pretty impressive.”

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Ohtani sounded at peace with the decision to not pitch in the WBC, which he said was made jointly with the team.  

“Last year, I only pitched in the second half (of the season),” Ohtani said. “Timing-wise, if this came after pitching an entire season, I think the overall approach would’ve been different. Right now, at this stage, honestly, I’m satisfied with the feeling that it would be difficult.”

While Ohtani said he was relieved to finally have a normal offseason — he spent his two previous winters recovering from elbow and shoulder operations, respectively — he said he knew he would have to advance as a player to reach his latest round of goals. Pitching and hitting in the postseason, he acknowledged, was extremely demanding.

“Two years ago, I played as a DH, but it was a different feeling from last year,” he said. “It felt like a different task.”

So he continues to build up his pitching arm. He said he wants to pitch to batters next week.

Because after the WBC, he wants to be in position to do more. And more. And more.