And here, as at so many other moments in his career so far, he delivered exactly what everyone wanted to see: a towering home run that soared deep to right field and, when it landed, made him the first player in MLB history with a pitching victory (in the 2021 game in Denver) and a home run in his All-Star career.
He became the first Los Angeles Dodger to hit a home run in the game since Mike Piazza in 1996. He provided the entire National League offense Tuesday, his three runs giving it the only runs it would get in a 5-3 loss to the American League.
“I didn’t hit a really good pitch in the All-Star Game overall,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “So I’m just grateful I put a good ball in play.”
Even if he doesn’t say much, even if he remains matter-of-fact about his celebrity, Ohtani’s gravitas overwhelms events like these. For example, when he arrived for All-Star media day on Monday, MLB staffers held reporters back until he was seated at the table where he would answer questions. When they released them to follow Ohtani, a rushing swarm devoured left field at Globe Life Field, a wave of cameramen running so frantically that Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Alec Bohm stood up at his table and interrupted a conversation.
“I want to see that,” he said as Tyler Glasnow, Ohtani’s teammate in Los Angeles, held up his phone to document the invasion. When Washington Nationals shortstop C.J. Abrams was asked who he was most looking forward to meeting in his first All-Star Game, he named Ohtani. When World Series champion and four-time All-Star Juan Soto was asked who he would most like to play with someday, he also named Ohtani.
In fact, Soto and his New York Yankees star teammate Aaron Judge were talking about him as Ohtani came back to bat for a second time Tuesday night.
“He asked me what I thought of Ohtani, and I said, ‘Man, . 316, 30 home runs,’” Judge said. “And before I could say what I was saying, he went 120 yards to the right.”
There were some memorable moments, of course, outside of Ohtani’s life. In the first inning, when everyone was eager to see prodigy Paul Skenes face Judge before Judge’s inning was over, Soto drew a walk and singled to Judge before taking first base.
“I was trying to get him to move deep,” Soto joked later. “But after two strikes, I really wanted to work the bat to make sure (Judge) was facing him, too.”
Judge hit the first pitch and forced the out. Skenes threw a scoreless first pitch, with Soto’s only walk.
And there was Jarren Duran’s game-winning home run that earned him the MVP award, making him the first Boston Red Sox player to win it since J.D. Drew in 2008.
But those big scenes belong to Ohtani again and again, not only because of the general fascination with his every move, but also because of the way the baseball universe seems to want him at the center of them. When American League starting pitcher Corbin Burnes walked him in the first inning, the Texas crowd murmured and booed in displeasure.
Later, facing Oakland Athletics fire-thrower Mason Miller, Ohtani was thrown out. In the next at-bat, Miller struck out Trea Turner on a pitch measured at 103.6 mph, the hardest pitch ever thrown in an All-Star Game.
“The hitters we face every day all year long are very talented, but to do it on stage in front of that crowd against those talented players is something I’ll always remember,” Miller told MLB.com after the game. “I think every hitter out there is super talented, so no matter who you’re going against, it’s going to be a battle. I ended up getting the top of the list, and I was excited to get that matchup.”
But even as Ohtani has become the center of attention in moments like these, this year’s All-Star Game was the first major event in recent memory not to be accompanied by uncomfortable questions.
Over the last two years of his tenure with the Los Angeles Angels, national reporters have been asking him plenty about where he might spend his much-vaunted baseball future. And when he took the field in Seoul to open this season, he gave way to questions about his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, and allegations that his longtime friend — who has since pleaded guilty to criminal charges — siphoned millions from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts.
This week, however, has been noticeably lighter. After years of bland, uninspiring suits on the red carpet, Ohtani opened his jacket Tuesday to reveal images of his now-famous dog, Decoy. He fielded questions about his choice for the home run derby (Dodgers teammate and eventual winner Teoscar Hernández), about Los Angeles’ ability to bounce back from a slow first half, about not winning a World Series that would be a failure. The conversation is, as much as it always has been with Ohtani, about the fate of his struggling baseball team.
“The last few games before the All-Star break were tough,” Ohtani said. “But I think this All-Star break is a really good opportunity to reset and get all the injured players back. So I think it’s going to be a really good opportunity for us to get into the second half of the season. We’re really looking forward to getting some more guys back from the injured list.”
Conversations like these, questions about his manager and discussions about the World Series or not, remind us that, thanks to his recent ubiquity in the Midsummer Classics, Ohtani is about to embark on an unprecedented chapter in his career in the United States: For the first time, he will be part of a team that could—and should—make the playoffs. Barring some unthinkable calamity, he will play big games in August and September. If all goes according to plan, he will play all sorts of games in October. Ohtani always seems to find his way to the center of baseball’s biggest moments. The biggest, in a way, may be on the way.