Shohei Ohtani Case Study
If you follow baseball, chances are you’ve heard of two-way Japanese phenomenon Shohei Ohtani, who’s managed to defy all convention by hitting and pitching at an all-star level through a full season. However, despite his impressive performance, Ohtani suffered a right UCL tear, his second in the past five years. As a result, Ohtani was forced to miss the later portion of the 2023 season in order to undergo Tommy John surgery; he will also likely miss out on pitching during the first half of the 2024 season, if not longer. This pattern of events begs the question: what caused Ohtani’s UCL tear?
UCL Tears:
The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is a ligament that connects the humerus and ulna. In short, it connects the upper arm bone to the pinky side bone of the forearm. The UCL comprises three main sections: the anterior, posterior, and transverse sections. When healthy, the UCL stabilizes the elbow joint, serving as a tether between the two bones. However, in the case of a UCL tear like Ohtani’s, the elbow experiences laxity or looseness as the tissue fails to adequately support it.
UCL tears are commonly found in athletes in throwing sports, especially baseball, where repetitive strain is applied to the elbow. Another less common mechanism for a UCL tear is a traumatic avulsion fracture, which causes part of the humerus to chip away from the rest of the bone, taking the ligament with it. In Ohtani’s case, he suffered a stress/strain-related UCl tear due to his high pitching workload and the immense force he constantly applied on his elbow.
Ohtani’s Tear:
In 2023, after exiting his start only 1 ⅓ innings in, Ohtani underwent an MRI that revealed a tear in his UCL. This was the second time in only five seasons that Ohtani suffered a UCL tear: in 2018 he’d experienced a complete tear that warranted surgery, thus sidelining him from pitching the following year. Unlike other pitchers, Ohtani’s tear was not a catastrophic tear in which the ligament ruptured mid-pitch. Rather, on his 26th pitch of the outing, Ohtani motioned to the dugout and shook his head, indicating he needed to be removed from the game.
Despite these injuries, Ohtani continued to hit during the later portion of the 2018 and 2023 seasons. For the most part, his UCL diagnoses have not affected his performance at the plate. However, on the mound where elbow stability remains crucial, he has been unable to pitch.
Rehab:
Because of the nature of his elbow tear in both 2018 and 2023, Ohtani required a UCL repair surgery, also known as Tommy John surgery.
Originally performed by Frank Jobe in 1974 on Dodgers pitcher Tommy John, the surgery utilizes a tendon graft from either the palmaris longus muscle or another wrist tendon to reinforce the original UCL location. This acts as a support that the ligament originally provided. For Ohtani, his Tommy John surgery in 2023 yielded about a ⅓ chance of the player returning to their original athletic standards. However, due to advancing technology, tears are detected earlier and more precisely, resulting in the surgery’s success rate having doubled.
Pitchers typically require 12-14 months of rehab before returning to the mound. However, given Ohtani’s position as a 2-way player, Dodger fans could see him on the field as early as opening day in 2024 in limited capacity as a designated hitter. Ohtani also bats from the left side– something less common among baseball athletes– and this unique attribute further contributes to his early return from a right-side injury as a left-handed swing.
Conclusion:
While Ohtani has a long road ahead before his return to the mound, it is safe to say that he is on the right track. He has already been seen working out with the team during the off-season and is slated to return as a DH at the beginning of the 2024 season. Dodger fans can look forward to Shohei-mania in 2024.
Sources:
Bollinger, Rhett. “Ohtani Has UCL Tear, Won’t Pitch Again in ’23.” MLB.Com, MLB, 24 Aug. 2023, www.mlb.com/news/shohei-ohtani-has-tear-in-ucl.
“Meet Shohei Ohtani’s Surgeon, Who Fixes Sports’ Biggest Stars and Saved His $700-Million Arm.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2023, www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2023-12-14/shohei-ohtani-dodgers-tommy-john-surgery-neal-elattrache#:~:text=Shohei%20Ohtani%2C%20pitching%20for%20the,Tommy%20John%20surgery%20in%20September.&text=%E2%80%9CWhen%20Frank%20taught%20me%20to,33%25%2C%E2%80%9D%20ElAttrache%20said.
“Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) Injuries of the Elbow.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, 30 Oct. 2023, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/ulnar-collateral-ligament-ucl-injuries-of-the-elbow.
