Sports
Inside a Shohei Ohtani batting practice, the biggest spectacle of Dodgers spring training
As he threw batting practice to Shohei Ohtani on Friday, Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel learned more about the superstar slugger based on what he did with bad pitches, not good ones.
Plenty of players, Ebel noted, can launch towering drive after towering drive at soft throws over the middle of the plate.
But on pitches that missed the heart of the zone Friday, Ohtani either laid off — a rare trait Ebel said spoke to the hitter’s efficient approach and purposeful work ethic — or made a quick and powerful adjustment in the box, sending them sailing through a bright morning sky all the same.
“He’s just so strong,” Ebel said afterward, an excited smile accompanying his recounting of the session. “I threw away, homer. I threw middle, homer. I threw middle-in, homer. He had a purpose with every swing he took. … Every pitch had like a game-speed swing.”
Ohtani isn’t quite ready for live games yet, nor apparently live pitching.
While he was originally on the schedule to take his first live batting practice of the spring Friday — it would have been his first time facing a real pitcher since having elbow surgery last September — the two-time MVP instead went through only a normal batting practice session with Ebel.
The change of plans was nothing more than a clerical error, Ohtani later explained. He was never planning to take live BP on Friday. He said he was aiming for sometime next week.
Nonetheless, Ohtani is still trending toward being available on opening day. He is still ahead of schedule in his recovery from last year’s Tommy John surgery. And even in a routine batting practice Friday, he still put on a show for the several hundred fans and reporters gathered to watch at Camelback Ranch.
Of his 26 swings, 13 were home runs.
During one round in the cage, he uncorked five long balls in a row in five swings.
“That was impressive,” Ebel said. “Exit velocity had to be through the roof today. Probably every time he hits, it’s like that.”
At least, every time this spring it has been.
Between his three batting practice sessions in the last week, Ohtani has hit 33 home runs in 76 total swings. On each occasion, his BP has attracted masses of coaches, team officials and reporters.
Most of them have emerged with similar takeaways, noting how effortless Ohtani’s power looks at the plate, and how quickly he appears to be progressing through his elbow recovery with his swing.
“He’s a lot further along than any of us not named Shohei would have expected,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s worked really hard, and is very diligent in his work.”
Indeed, Ohtani has approached each session with an obvious focus.
In his first BP last week, he had a nearby tablet displaying instant exit velocities (it rarely dipped below 100 mph), as well as a cellphone giving him other real-time feedback on each of his 10 swings.
The next two sessions have been similar, just with an increased number of swings — and attention.
During Friday’s session, Roberts at one point took out his own cellphone to record some of Ohtani’s drives, following the lead of dozens of spectators encircling the field .
Afterward, Ohtani posed for a photo with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and his son, who was trailing his dad around the facility for the day.
On the mound, Ebel also watched in amazement. In Ohtani’s rookie 2018 MLB season with the Angels, Ebel was in his final season as the third base coach in Anaheim. Half-a-decade later, he has been struck by how different Ohtani looks — “He’s so much stronger now, visually,” Ebel said — and, more important, acts as one of the game’s biggest attractions.
“When he walks into a room, there’s a presence,” Ebel said. “He has a mission. He knows what his routine is. Everybody watches to see what he does. When you see that, I’m happy for him. Because when I first saw him to where he is today, and what he’s accomplished, for me he’s the best athlete and best baseball player in the world.”
That hasn’t stopped Ohtani from fitting into his new surroundings with the Dodgers.
All spring, Dodgers personnel have complimented Ohtani’s down-to-earth demeanor around the clubhouse. He has already surpassed expectations regarding his media availability, holding three sessions in less than two weeks (an early departure from his typical once-a-week, at most, media availability with the Angels).
Even during batting practice sessions, his rapport with teammates continues to grow.
On Friday, Ohtani initially headed to the wrong field at the Dodgers’ sprawling Camelback Ranch facility. When he was called back to the diamond where Ebel was pitching, Teoscar Hernández and others in his BP group laughed with him about the mix-up.
“They were like, ‘What are you doing?’” Ebel relayed with a laugh.
Later, after one of Ohtani’s few swings to not threaten the outfield fence — or the parking lot beyond it — infielder Miguel Rojas sarcastically shouted out, “No pop!” It immediately elicited a chuckle from the two-time MVP.
“That’s the kind of stuff I think he likes,” Ebel said. “He wants to be a part of that. Just because it’s Shohei, don’t shy away.”
Exactly what will come next in Ohtani’s ramp-up for the season is somewhat unclear. While he is planning to face live pitching next week, his availability for the Dodgers’ Cactus League opener Thursday hasn’t yet been determined. Neither has the total number of preseason at-bats Ohtani is expected to get, with Roberts noting the slugger might split time between official spring games and informal backfield scrimmages.
“I’m gonna start talking to him on what he likes, as far as his expectation to get ready for a major league season,” Roberts said. “Obviously game at-bats are important. But if we can get at-bats on a backfield, we can do that too.”
The one thing Roberts did say with certainty: “It seems like every single day, he keeps getting better and feels really good.”
Nowhere has that been more evident, so far, than in Ohtani’s show-stopping batting practice spectacles, which have already become the early highlight of Dodgers spring training.
“Certainly everyone wants to see him on a baseball field and playing. I get that,” Roberts said. “But the main thing is to get him ready for opening day. And I think that we’ve got plenty of time to do that.”
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS
MONDAY’S RESULTS
First Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter 16, #17 Middle College 6
#20 Cleveland 20, #13 Dorsey 2
#10 North Hollywood 12, #14 USC-MAE 0
#18 Taft 13, #15 Central City Value 0
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys 19, #17 Alliance Bloomfield 2
#20 East Valley 14, #13 Community Charter 3
#14 VAAS 18, #19 Angelou 0
#15 Reseda 24, #18 Stella 0
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn 44, #17 West Adams 33
#20 Hawkins 28, #13 LAAAE 7
#14 Franklin 19, #19 Mendez 7
#18 Diego Rivera 24, #15 Discovery 8
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
First Round
DIVISION I
#16 Sherman Oaks CES at #1 Venice
#9 San Fernando at #8 Bravo
#12 Lincoln at #5 Chavez
#13 Animo Venice at #4 Chatsworth
#14 LA University at #3 Port of LA
#11 Harbor Teacher at #6 Eagle Rock
#10 Verdugo Hills at #7 Garfield
#15 LA Hamilton at #2 Marquez
Second Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter at #1 LA Marshall
#9 Northridge Academy at #8 Rancho Dominguez
#12 Fremont at #5 Symar
#20 Cleveland at #4 Narbonne
#19 North Hollywood at #3 Roosevelt
#11 Orthopaedic at #5 Arleta
#10 Sun Valley Poly at #7 South Gate
#18 Taft at #2 LA Wilson
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys at #1 Bell
#9 Palisades at #8 Hollywood
#12 Lakeview Charter at #5 South East
#20 East Valley at #4 Maywood Academy
#14 VAAS at #3 Maywood CES
#11 Westchester at #6 Torres
#10 Animo Robinson at #7 LACES
#15 Reseda at #2 Sun Valley Magnet
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn at #1 Jefferson
#9 Smidt Tech at #8 Alliance Levine
#12 Downtown Magnets at #5 University Prep Value
#20 Hawkins at #4 Huntington Park
#14 Franklin at #3 Santee
#11 Bernstein at #6 Camino Nuevo
#10 Rise Kohyang at #7 CALS Early College
#18 Diego Rivera at #2 LA Jordan
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Quarterfinals
OPEN DIVISION
#8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills
#5 El Camino Real at #4 San Pedro
#6 Wilmington Banning at #3 Birmingham
#7 Legacy at #2 Carson
Note: Division I-IV quarterfinals May 22 at higher seeds; Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.
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Russell Wilson has had his share of ups and downs in his NFL career.
He helped the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship in 2013 and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. But the last few years of his career arguably did some damage to his legacy as he’s spent the last three seasons with three different teams.
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New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 9, 2025. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Wilson is still on the free-agent market as he looks to latch on to a new team for 2026. However, former NFL star Aqib Talib implored Wilson to hang up the cleats.
“Do your TV thing, Russ. It’s over with, man. Once you’ve got to decide, do I even want to play?” Talib said on “The Arena: Gridiron.” “I think you don’t really want to play. I hate when guys get to the later part of their career and then they start doing the bounce-around thing and they’re not going to win. There was no chip in New York. That’s just going to be another stop on your resume.”
Wilson reportedly garnered some interest from NFL teams.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson stands on the field before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Oct. 26, 2025. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
He told the New York Post that the New York Jets were one of them.
Wilson also was reportedly a candidate to take Matt Ryan’s spot on CBS’ “The NFL Today” after Ryan left to take a front office job with the Atlanta Falcons.
Wilson has 46,966 passing yards and 353 passing touchdowns in 205 career games, but the 2025 season with the New York Giants was one to forget.
Wilson started three games and made some bizarre decisions in a loss against the Chiefs. Jaxson Dart was named the starting quarterback. As he came in to take a few snaps while Dart was being checked for a concussion, Wilson was booed.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 19, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
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Should he end up signing with another team, Wilson will be entering his age-38 season.
A lot has changed since Jacori Perry attended Morningside High School.
Perry is now a renowned artist who goes by the names Mr. Ace and AiseBorn.
The school is now known as Inglewood High School United.
And the lecture hall on that campus now features a large, ornate mural of a soccer ball being grasped by the hands of two people — freshly painted by the 2004 Morningside graduate as the city of Inglewood prepares to host eight World Cup games at SoFi Stadium starting next month.
Local artist Mr. Ace works on his mural at Inglewood High School United on May 11. The artists, whose real name is Jacori Perry, attended the school when it was known as Morningside High more than two decades ago.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
“If you told me that I would be back here painting one of the walls on this campus when I was in high school, I don’t think that I necessarily would have foreseen it,” Mr. Ace said as he was putting the finishing touches on his mural last week. “So I’m a little in amazement about just the way life works in that sense.”
He was one of several Los Angeles-based artists to participate in a Road to World Cup Community Day last month at Inglewood High United. Many of the artists — including Juan Pablo Reyes (“JP murals”), Michelle Ruby Guerrero (“Mr. B Baby”) and Angel Acordagoitia — sketched designs on portable panels (12-feet by 8-feet) and picnic tables for community members to paint.
The picnic tables will remain at the high school in front of Mr. Ace’s mural. The mobile murals will be placed throughout LAX to welcome visitors arriving for the World Cup.
Kathryn Schloessman, CEO of the Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee, said in a news release that the event was “just one example of how the energy of the World Cup can be felt in neighborhoods across our region.”
“Students, artists, and volunteers came together to create a work of art that will live on well beyond the end of the tournament,” Schloessman said. “It’s a reflection of the creativity, diversity, and community pride that makes our region so special as we prepare to host the world for FIFA World Cup 2026.”
Community members were encouraged to take part in the painting process, no matter their skill level.
“We made it easy enough for people that have zero experience to a proficient level of experience, for them to all be involved,” said Reyes, who designed and helped paint two mural panels and three tables. “We did the sketch, and then I tried to dab a little bit of color — whatever color is supposed to be there, I dabbed a little bit of color right there, so they would have a guide. …
Students and community members help paint a mural panel during a Road to World Cup Community Day event May 2 at Inglewood High School.
(Dawn M. Burkes / Los Angeles Times)
“I was right there, kind of supervising, making sure that everything went as planned. And if anybody has questions, they’re more than welcome to let me know about them. But, yeah, it’s pretty easy for them to kind of be involved and feel that sense of ownership and have a sense of pride that, ‘Yeah, I was part of that mural-creation process.’ It’s a rich experience for them.”
Acordagoitia sketched several table-top designs for the public to paint at the event.
“They did great,” he said of the community members. “They helped a lot. They were asking questions. They got all the other colors correct. So, yeah, they were excited. A lot of kids were excited to see the live painting, because now kids are used to being on their phones. So that was a great experience for them.”
Acordagoitia also opted to paint a mural panel on his own because “it was a little more technical,” involving portraits of his 8-year-old son, a nephew and a friend.
“I wanted to focus more on the youth because that’s really our future,” he said. “So that’s, that’s the main thing about the mural, just about the kids, soccer, culture, community. It’s exciting for me, because I grew up playing soccer and to include soccer with art, it’s just a dream come true.”
Guerrero said “the community was a big help in filling in all the background colors that I need in order to build the detail and layers” on the two mural panels she designed.
“My whole style is based on culture. And I think that there’s a connection there with the World Cup and how I feel like it brings together all the culture and just, like, celebration,” Guerrero said. “It kind of goes hand in hand with the type of work I do, because my stuff is really festive, celebrating culture. And just as an L.A.-based artist, I think the collaboration made sense.”
The four artists also took part in another Road to World Cup Community Day in downtown L.A. at Gloria Molina Grand Park on March 14. At that event, the artists sketched designs on large sculptures shaped like soccer balls and an oversized picnic table, also for community members to paint.
While Mr. Ace opted to paint his permanent mural at Inglewood High School United on his own, he was sure to include the community theme into his work.
“The idea was really centered around just creating something that was community-based — something that represented the World Cup but also represented some sense of community,” he said. “And so what I did was try to create something that was symbolic, very direct in terms of its relationship to soccer and figuring out through that how to create something simple that [brings] into that a sense of community. And that’s how I landed on the two hands holding the soccer ball.”
Local artist Mr. Ace works on his World Cup-themed mural at Inglewood High School United on May 11.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Back when he was a student on that campus, Mr. Ace said he was always involved in art and knew he wanted a career as an artist. He struggled to come up with the right words to describe how it felt being back there creating a work of art to be shared with the students, all of the community and everyone who happens to see it on the way to a World Cup match.
“I guess there’s no words to really describe it,” he said. “I think if any artist gets the opportunity to paint at their own high school — especially if they’ve been doing large-scale works around the city, the country or the world — I think that is a little touching. When it’s attached to something like the World Cup … you know, a large part of my childhood was spent in Inglewood, so coming from my circumstances and life, I think it’s even more intriguing.”
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