{"id":97193,"date":"2025-09-23T08:25:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T08:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=97193"},"modified":"2025-09-23T08:26:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T08:26:08","slug":"%f0%9f%92%a5%f0%9f%92%a5%f0%9f%92%a5breaking-ohtani-exemption-controversy-dodgers-shohei-ohtani-special-exemption-loophole-has-sparked-outrage-among-playoff-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=97193","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udca5\ud83d\udca5\ud83d\udca5BREAKING: OHTANI EXEMPTION CONTROVERSY \u2014 Dodgers\u2019 Shohei Ohtani \u201cspecial exemption\u201d loophole has sparked outrage among playoff teams, insiders say debates are raging over fairness and rules, and fans are buzzing about how this could impact postseason dynamics."},"content":{"rendered":"<section id=\"article-body\">\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/rockcms\/2025-05\/250527-shohei-ohtani-pitching-se-246p-362d74.jpg\" alt=\"Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani takes significant step toward pitching again\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Los Angeles Dodgers are gearing up for their second consecutive World Series Championship run, and superstar Shohei Ohtani is expected to play a major role this postseason. Over the weekend, he added another impressive milestone by setting a new home run record at Dodger Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShohei Ohtani just broke his own record by hitting his 29th home run at Dodger Stadium this season. The previous record was the 28 homers he hit in his first year with LA. Shohei Ohtani is putting the finishing touches on another unanimous MVP,\u201d DodgersNation\u2019s Doug McKain wrote.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to his offensive dominance, Ohtani could also see time in the bullpen this October \u2014 a scenario that Dodgers GM Dave Roberts and his staff have been openly considering.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know that we are going to be talking about it,&#8221; Roberts said. &#8220;I think the one thing you can say, though, is that we use him once every seven days, eight days, nine days \u2014 [11] days in between his last start \u2014 so to think that now it&#8217;s feasible for a guy that&#8217;s just coming off what he&#8217;s done last year, or didn&#8217;t do last year, to then now put him in a role that&#8217;s very, very unique \u2014 because he&#8217;s a very methodical, disciplined, routine-driven person. The pen is the complete opposite, right? You potentially could be taking on risk, and we&#8217;ve come this far, certainly with the kid gloves and managing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This potential loophole \u2014 using Ohtani out of the bullpen or in right field \u2014 has caused some frustration among other playoff-bound teams.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTeams are upset that the Dodgers will have one more pitcher than everyone else on their roster since there\u2019s a special exemption for Shohei Ohtani as a two-way player,&#8221; USA Today\u2019s Bob Nightengale wrote. &#8220;If Ohtani is a starting pitcher, he can remain in the game as a DH once he\u2019s replaced on the mound.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp<\/p>\n<p>This is the luxury of having a once-in-a-generation player who can do it all. Ohtani is among the best in the game and has shown he\u2019s capable of excelling in whatever role he\u2019s asked to fill.<\/p>\n<p>For the Dodgers, this shouldn\u2019t pose any issues \u2014 nothing about Ohtani\u2019s usage violates league rules. The frustration from other teams simply stems from the fact that they don\u2019t have a two-way weapon of their own. Regardless, Ohtani\u2019s postseason role will be one of the most fascinating storylines to follow this October.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shohei Ohtani is once again about to be cheat code in the playoffs and other teams aren&#8217;t happy with what the Dodgers are able to do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":97196,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\ud83d\udca5\ud83d\udca5\ud83d\udca5BREAKING: OHTANI EXEMPTION CONTROVERSY \u2014 Dodgers\u2019 Shohei Ohtani \u201cspecial exemption\u201d loophole has sparked outrage among playoff teams, insiders say debates are raging over fairness and rules, and fans are buzzing about how this could impact postseason dynamics. - 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