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Aside from being an elite baseball player, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is also a fantastic and selfless teammate. It's not just that he would do anything in his power to help his team win, whether by pitching or batting (or both); he's also seemingly willing to accommodate a big change if it means improving the chances for success of LA.
So, when Ohtani was asked to move down the batting order from leadoff to the No. 2 spot in a switch with slumping teammate and fellow MLB superstar Mookie Betts, he did not think twice about it.
“No hesitation at all,” Ohtani said (h/t Dodgers reporter Doug McKain).
Anything that makes anybody feel like they're more comfortable to hit, I'm happy to do so. I got a text message from Dave Roberts the night before, and I was happy to comply.”
Ohtani has always been the Dodgers' leadoff hitter in the 2025 MLB regular season. Outside of two games back in April when Tommy Edman led off for Los Angeles while Ohtani was on the MLB paternity list, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player batted first for Los Angeles until the switch with Betts that began last Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Dodgers are hoping that moving Betts up the order will help spark him at the plate. Over the last two games with Betts batting leadoff, he has gone 2-for-8 with two runs scored, a walk, and a strikeout. During that same stretch, Ohtani has been 2-for-7, with both hits being home runs, four RBIs and four punchouts.
It's uncertain how long the Dodgers will keep Betts batting first, but it is believed that manager Dave Roberts will continue to have it that way until Max Muncy returns from a knee bruise (h/t Sonja Chen of MLB.com).
That means, Betts can be expected batting leadoff anew this Tuesay night when the Dodgers and the Twins play the second leg of the three-game series at Dodger Stadium.
So far in the season, Betts, an eight-time All-Star and a three-time World Series champion, is batting .241/.312/.377 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs and just a 94 OPS+. His .246 BABIP offers hope that he will see improvement, which hopefully for LA, happens in this campaign.
