Ohtani’s first HR

On April 3rd, Ohtani blasted a home run in the bottom of the 7th inning. It’s his first home run in the Dodgers uniform. Ohtani indicated that he was very relieved that he was able to hit the first homer. Ohtani’s first home run as a Dodger came in the 41st plate appearance of the season.

 

I watched that game on TV and was truly glad to see Ohtani hit his first home run as a Dodger. While watching the game, I began to think about Ohtani’s first home run each season.

 

Back in 2018, Ohtani’s first season in the majors. He hit his first home run in the big leagues on April 3rd. It was in the bottom of the first inning and it only took 6 plate appearances for Ohtani to smash his first long ball in the majors.

 

In 2019, Ohtani was a full-time DH and he crushed 18 home runs during the regular season. His first home run of the 2019 season came on May 13th. It was in the top of the 3rd inning and this time, the first home run of the season came in the 26th plate appearance.

 

The 2020 season was a shortened one and the regular season started in late July. Ohtani’s first home run in 2020 came on July 29th and it was his 16th plate appearance of the season.

 

In 2021, Ohtani won the AL MVP award. This season, as a hitter, he slashed .257/.372/.592 with 46 home runs and 100 RBI. The first home run of the season came on April 2nd and it was the second game of the regular season. The homer was hit in the bottom of the 9th inning and it was Ohtani’s 9th plate appearance in 2021.

 

Then, let’s look at the 2022 season. Ohtani’s first home run came on April 15th. In the top of the first inning, Ohtani crushed a home run against Matt Bush. This home run came in the 31st plate appearance.

 

Finally, last season, Ohtani won the AL MVP award again. During the regular season, he hit .304/.412/.654 with 44 home runs and 95 RBI. In 2023, Ohtani blasted his first home run on April 2nd. It was in the top of the 5th inning, Ohtani hit a home run against Ken Waldichuk and it was Ohtani’s 12th plate appearance in 2023.

 

Without doubt, Ohtani is a home run hitter. Over the last 6 seasons, there were 3 times that he finished a season with at least 30 home runs. In 2021 and 2023, Ohtani won the AL MVP award and he went deep 40+ times each season. After signing the biggest contract in baseball history, baseball fans are certainly watching Ohtani’s performance and would like to know when he would crush his first home run as a Dodger. Compared to the previous 6 seasons with the Angels, it did take a little bit more time for Ohatni to smash his first home run of the season. Nonetheless, the first home run eventually came and by far, he already belted 11 home runs in the Dodgers uniform. And let’s see if Ohtani will blast 40+ home runs in his first season as a Dodger.