SouthernWorldwide.com – Baseball’s most recognizable star will be absent from Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Friday that Shohei Ohtani has been withdrawn from his scheduled start and will also miss the Midsummer Classic due to what the team described as left knee irritation.
Ohtani has become a consistent presence at the All-Star Game for clear reasons. He has earned this distinction for the past five consecutive seasons and made his first start in 2021.
The two-way phenomenon is on a trajectory to secure his fifth MVP award in the last six seasons. He is currently hitting .290 with an .939 OPS, and his pitching performance boasts a remarkable 1.79 ERA, the second-lowest among pitchers with at least 80 innings pitched. His OPS also ranks as the seventh-best in the league.
The Dodgers have stated that Ohtani will continue to serve as the team’s designated hitter until the All-Star break. However, he will undergo “some interventions on his knee to put him in the best position for the second half of the season.”
Ohtani had previously experienced knee issues earlier in the season.
This absence represents a significant blow to the game, especially as another prominent figure in the sport, Aaron Judge, is also sidelined from the game due to a fractured rib that has kept him out of action since late May.
Ohtani amassed a combined 99 home runs in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, leading the National League with a 1.025 OPS during that period. Although Ohtani did not pitch in 2024 following elbow surgery, he returned to the mound last year, recording a 2.87 ERA and 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings, a mark he also achieved in 2022, which led the American League.
Referred to as the “Japanese Babe Ruth,” Ohtani is the sole player in MLB history to have accumulated over 300 plate appearances and pitched more than 40 innings in six separate seasons. For comparison, Babe Ruth accomplished this feat only twice and never stole 50 bases. Ohtani has excelled exceptionally in both aspects of the game.
While Ohtani’s current hitting statistics may not match his previous career highs, his pitching performance this season is undoubtedly the best of his career and compensates for it. He has “only” recorded 20 home runs and 56 RBIs this season.
