On July 22, 2026, after the Dodgers beat the Phillies 9-5, reserve outfielder Alex Call hopped over the dugout railing and his left cleat landed squarely on Shohei Ohtani‘s right elbow. The video spread instantly: Ohtani shakes his arm, steps away from the handshake line for a moment, then rejoins. No injury officially reported. But context changes everything — that right elbow already carries the weight of two Tommy John surgeries, and Ohtani had been dealing with biceps and knee soreness for weeks.
Why This Moment Matters More Than It Should
Call didn’t mean to do it. You can see it on his face the instant he realizes where his foot landed. The issue isn’t intent — it’s the target. Ohtani had been managing right biceps soreness since late July and hadn’t taken the mound since July 3 due to tightness in that same area, compounded by left knee discomfort.
By September 4, 2026, Ohtani had missed three straight games with right biceps pain, neck stiffness, and left knee soreness. Manager Dave Roberts listed him as day-to-day, ruling out an IL stint for now. Call’s cleat didn’t cause a confirmed new injury — but it became the symbol of a season in which Ohtani’s body has been the most uncomfortable storyline in Los Angeles.
The Most Expensive Elbow in Baseball History
Ohtani’s right elbow isn’t just any elbow. It’s the arm he pitches with, and it’s already been through UCL surgery in 2018 and a second Tommy John procedure in September 2023 — the one that kept him off the mound for all of 2024. Add a left shoulder surgery after that year’s World Series, and you have a medical chart that would make any actuary nervous.
This is the arm attached to the man who signed the largest contract in baseball history: 10 years, $700 million. When Call landed on that elbow, nobody was overreacting — they were reading the injury history of the most valuable player on the planet.
Ohtani addressed his condition in late July through interpreter Will Ireton after a loss to the Mariners: «My biceps isn’t 100 percent, and it’s similar with the knee. Do we push it? It’s still July, so the conversation would be different if we were in August or September.» By September, that conversation arrived anyway — and the dugout incident poured fuel on it across social media.
The Numbers That Make This So Alarming
Here’s what’s actually at stake. In his 14 starts this season, Ohtani has been as dominant as advertised:
- ERA: 1.79 · WHIP: 0.95 across 85.2 innings
- Fastball averaging 97.8 mph with 2,459 rpm of spin
- 95 strikeouts against just 26 walks (27.9% K rate)
- xERA: 2.73 · opponents batting .180 against him
- Exit velocity allowed: 87.4 mph · barrel rate allowed: just 3.8%
- Whiff rate: 30.4%
At the plate, he’s been no less elite in 592 plate appearances:
- 30 home runs · 80 RBI · .279 AVG · .906 OPS
- xwOBA: .401 — 99th percentile in MLB per Statcast
- Exit velocity: 93.2 mph · barrel rate: 15.8% · hard-hit rate: 51.7%
- Average bat speed: 74.6 mph (79th percentile)
His Baseball Savant profile reinforces it across the board: 95th percentile in xERA, 97th in exit velocity, 94th in barrels avoided, 93rd in fastball velocity. This is a pitcher-hitter operating at a level almost no one else in the sport can touch.
Real Concern, Not Rage-Bait
The Call-Ohtani clip was amplified by accounts like @Punchoutpitch and @JomboyMedia, racking up millions of impressions within hours. Some outlets used it to push narratives about clubhouse culture or Ohtani’s demeanor — what Dodgers analysts quickly labeled rage-baiting, with zero evidence of any real internal conflict.
The legitimate concern is simpler and more concrete: every game Ohtani misses as a hitter is a day without one of the best bats on the planet. Every cancelled start is a direct loss for a postseason rotation that needs him at both ends. A Dodgers team with a healthy, two-way Ohtani is a different animal than one managing him through pain. That’s the real story — and it has nothing to do with a viral video.
