And, unsurprisingly, Ohtani has at times struggled to adapt to the new technique, which goes against years of his baseball instinct. On a couple of his first slides in the 2025 regular season, Ohtani, likely as a force of habit, dropped his left hand in the dirt while sliding.

MLB player prop bets and odds for Shohei Ohtani on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, as the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the Atlanta Braves.

Shohei Ohtani has another win to add to his stockpile. After winning the World Series and his third league MVP award, the Los Angeles Dodgers star now has the world’s most popular Major League Baseball jersey.

After helping lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a World Series championship and opening the MLB season in Tokyo at the league’s biggest standalone international event ever, Shohei Ohtani’s worldwide popularity continues with the most popular player jersey in the Majors.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is has maintained his stranglehold on the title of most popular player in MLB. Per The Athletic's Evan Drellich, MLB revealed that Ohtani topped the list of most popular jerseys in the majors, followed by Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto:

2018 — Three days after starting at DH on Opening Day in his major league debut, Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani makes his debut on the mound, pitching 6 innings in leading the Angels to a 7 - 4 win over the Athletics.

The updated list of the most-sold MLB jerseys since the end of the World Series is predictably full of Los Angeles Dodgers. MORE: Longtime Dodgers organist Nancy Bea Hefley passes away Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman ranked first and second,