Why Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Won't Participate in 2024 MLB Home Run Derby

Ohtani last participated in the Home Run Derby in 2021.

Jul 2, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) hits a two-run home run during the seventh inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

As Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani belted yet another mammoth, 433-foot home run to help power his club to a 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night, the questions about the slugger's potential participation in the upcoming 2024 Home Run Derby persisted.

After the game, Ohtani told reporters he is not planning to participate in the tourney this year.

Why Shohei Ohtani Won't Participate in 2024 Home Run Derby

"There's been some conversations going on," Ohtani said. "I'm in the middle of my rehab progressions so it's not gonna look like I'll be participating."

Shohei Ohtani seems declining HR derby
大谷翔平選手、HRダービーは断念の方向みたい pic.twitter.com/9MWmrMIqqd

— 🦄 (@zh_sho_0_sy002z) July 3, 2024

Ohtani, who will turn 30 on July 5, is recovering from an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, which has prevented the two-way star from pitching this season. As manager Dave Roberts added, Ohtani would have "loved" to participate, but both he and the Dodgers, who signed him to a record 10-year, $700 million contract in December of 2023, acknowledged the risk in his potential participation.

"The reason he came to the Dodgers was to win a championship. And it's not solely his responsibility to carry Major League Baseball," Roberts said. "He is a guy that is very in-tune with his responsibility ... But he is going through rehab."

"And his job, he signed up to play for the Dodgers and to take care of himself the best way he can. So I think in any other normal situation, where he wasn't rehabbing, I think he would love to participate. But then you layer on something that is so unique to anyone, the volume of swings, the intensity of it, it would just be a real disappointment for not only Shohei, the Dodgers, and also the fans, if something were to happen during something like that, which is an exhibition, essentially."

Roberts added that the decision has "weighed heavily" on Ohtani.

"So I know that it's weighed heavy on him," Roberts continued. "But I do think that the rehab process is something that kind of, ultimately, makes him feel better about bowing out. But him alone playing, he's done a lot for the game of baseball, obviously."

Shohei Ohtani's History in the MLB Home Run Derby

Ohtani, during his standout rookie season in 2018, was asked about participating in the Home Run Derby, but he questioned whether he deserved to be in that conversation yet. The next season in '19, Ohtani expressed interest in being a part of the Derby, but he did not receive an invite from MLB. There was no Derby in '20, as the All-Star Game and weekend's festivities were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ohtani participated in the Home Run Derby for the first—and so far only—time back in 2021, in the midst of his first MVP campaign.

The then-Los Angeles Angels star set a record for the most home runs of at least 500 feet, with six. He would eventually bow out in the first round to then-Washington Nationals slugger Juan Soto, but not before the two went head-to-head in a thrilling swing-off.

After belting 28 home runs in five minutes of competition time, Ohtani was exhausted.

"I’m a lot more tired than the season, for sure," he said afterward through his interpreter.

Shohei Ohtani's Potential MVP Campaign for Dodgers

Ohtani, in his first season in Los Angeles, is in the midst of arguably his best season as a big-league hitter. Through 82 games played, Ohtani leads the National League in batting average, home runs, and OPS (On-Base plus Slugging Percentage) and his 192 OPS+, adjusted to the player's ballparks and normalized across the league, is on-pace to be a career-best mark.

Ohtani in June set a franchise record after he recorded an RBI in 10 straight games. He has helped the Dodgers (53-33) secure first place in the National League West, where they currently hold an 8.5-game lead over the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks.

Left unsaid in the explanation for Ohtani's Derby decision is the fact that the Dodgers are without stars Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Max Muncy, each of whom is sidelined due to injury. They simply can't afford to lose Ohtani—or even entertain the chance of losing Ohtani—especially in a Home Run Derby.