Straight Talk: Risk-taking Ohtani claims reward, blasts 2 home runs

Aug 5, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) is greeted in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field.

"Straight Talk" is a regular feature in which The Sporting Tribune's John E. Gibson offers a full translation of media availability with Dodgers Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. He will also help translate when Clippers star Rui Hachimura and L.A. Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida are asked questions in Japanese.

The job of interpreters in the heat of the moment is difficult without the ability to write down questions and answers and re-hear responses for proper context. That's where John comes in to help. John currently works as a Japanese-English interpreter and covered pro baseball in Japan for about 20 years. His experience as a sports reporter includes stints at The Orange County Register, The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, The Redlands Daily Facts, The Yomiuri Shimbun’s English newspaper in Tokyo and The Epoch Times.

CHICAGO – Shohei Ohtani cracks a pair of home runs, a leadoff shot in the first and a two-run longball in the eighth inning of a 7-6 loss to the host Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. Ohtani, who has 26 homers this season, talks to the Japanese press afterward about the risk of playing while banged up.

Q: When will you start pitching?

Ohtani: I was, of course, thinking I want to do it soon, but of course, I need to go at full strength and, as I just said, having to come out of the game is the worst thing I can do. I think it’s important to have confidence that if I go as hard as I did, I can move forward and stack the days together.

Q: There’s probably some risk with you playing in games as a batter, but as far as the pitching side, do you think it’s just about waiting until you’re healed? It’s difficult to imagine a good way to do that. Do you keep playing as you heel? What are you thinking about this situation?

Ohtani: I guess the best choice to make is to not play and then I probably won’t get hurt. That would be the best way to prevent an injury, but there’s no one out there playing who’s in perfect condition. There’s a risk, but you try to keep that to a minimum and go out play, contribute and advance to the postseason. It’s not like we have a huge lead. I want to contribute as a member of the offense – I’m not out there playing defense so it’s not as if I’m taking a big risk. I think there’s more of a chance that I can contribute than get hurt, and that’s why I’m playing.

Q: The way you spend time when you’re not playing a game, for instance, reducing batting practice or increase the treatment time or things like that, are there other things you’re doing differently?

Ohtani: So, my treatment time has, of course, gotten longer and the types of training I can do – there has been a significant limit to that. So it’s not the same, but I’m doing what I can do.

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