Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani explains why he chose to stop his pitching progression, despite being expected to make his pitching debut with the Dodgers in May 2025.

Shohei Ohtani has addressed both his and the Los Angeles Dodgers' decision to slow-play his throwing program for the time being.

So much so, that Kershaw had to make a bold Taylor Swift statement to describe Ohtani's level of fame in his home country. “I think we all assume how much of a figure Shohei is,” Kershaw said ahead of the Dodgers' Japan trip, via The Orange County Register. “People say he’s like The Beatles. People say he’s like Taylor Swift.”