Shohei Ohtani's stellar run features legendary Dodgers comparison, funny NSFW moments

Shohei Ohtani is a perfectionist. Even though he pitched six no-hit innings against the Rockies on Wednesday, he was dissatisfied in his postgame scrum. He wanted to go deeper into the game, and he would've preferred getting hit around a little over allowing walks (he gave up four) that drove up his pitch count and got him pulled after the sixth. He insisted that when he has it, he can feel it — and he maintained he didn't have it on Wednesday.

Dave Roberts was asked "whether he had ever managed someone with such unreasonable expectations."

"A guy that wore No. 22 that we remember," Roberts said. "Very similar."

The latest and probably last Dodger to ever wear No. 22 is, of course, Clayton Kershaw.

Ohtani was visibly dissatisfied with himself throughout his start. After missing badly with a fastball and driving his count against Ezequiel Tovar to 3-0 in the second, he let out an F-bomb that was anything but hard to discern over the broadcast. "Oop," Stephen Nelson said awkwardly. "Hot mic."

By every account except Ohtani's own, he pitched an incredible start. But he wouldn't be Shohei Ohtani if he settled for anything less than perfection.

Shohei Ohtani garners comparisons to Clayton Kershaw after latest near-perfect Dodgers start

Roberts was also asked if he knew what Ohtani's favorite English curse word was, to which Roberts replied that he did know, but he was going to protect his player by keeping it to himself.

Given the hot mic moment, we can probably guess what it is.

Ohtani's ERA has not surfaced above 1.00 through nine starts. It went "up" to 0.82 from 0.73 after Wednesday because an earned run scored after a walk, hit by pitch, groundout to move the runners, and then an RBI groundout.

But his frustration at not being able to pitch longer into games makes sense. This guy is competing for a Cy Young, whether or not he wants to admit it, and he'll need to get his innings up if he wants to compete with the likes of Jacob Misiorowski and Paul Skenes. The Dodgers are still figuring out the right balance with usage, but he usually pitches on six days rest instead of five, which already puts him at a disadvantage.

If you think about, Ohtani already has the entire world hyping him up. Someone has to bring him back down to earth. In this case, it just happens to be himself.

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