Back in 2017, Shohei Ohtani missed six weeks of baseball in Japan. He pulled a hamstring muscle just by running to first base. That history is why Los Angeles Dodgers fans panicked on Thursday night. During an 8-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Dodgers pulled both Ohtani and 25-year-old pitcher Justin Wrobleski from the game. The team won, but seeing their $700 million star hold his leg made everyone forget about the score.

“I think that we tried to be smart about it,” manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “And, you know, talked to the trainer and said he had a little behind the knee and behind the knee, little hamstring, so just wanted to be smart and not push it. So I feel good about him being in there tomorrow. But obviously, with the travel tonight, we’ll just kind of see how he comes in.”

Ohtani left in the seventh inning with knee and hamstring pain. He felt it grab after trying to steal a base on a foul ball. The Dodgers took him out right away just to be safe. Ohtani’s next day availability still, though, depends on how he feels tomorrow.

The panic is completely justified when you look at Ohtani’s recent workload. Just 24 hours earlier, Ohtani threw 102 pitches over 6.2 innings against these same Pirates. Then on Thursday again, playing as a designated hitter, Ohtani had 2 at-bats, including a homer. Pitching tires the legs, which makes sprinting much riskier.

For the fans in the stadium, the panic started in the fifth inning. That is when Wrobleski left the game abruptly. His exit looked like a severe injury at first. Wrobleski took a 96 mph comebacker off his leg, chased the ball, and then crashed hard into Pirates player Bryan Reynolds near first base. He tumbled to the ground and was attended to by the Dodgers’ trainers and left the field.

However, despite it looking like a horrifying crash, Wrobleski did not suffer an injury. The team just took him out to be safe.

“No, he’s fine, he’s fine, got the ball off him fine. He’s just more frustrated with his performance tonight and wanted to go deeper in again,” Roberts said.

Wrobleski struggled on the mound as he gave up 4 ERs with just 1 SO.

“I’ll get some treatment on it, and I’ll be fine,” Wrobleski said. “I don’t think it’s a big deal. Just a little frustrating.”

While there’s some time left for Wrobleski’s next start, things are different for Ohtani. Fans are panicked, thinking that overexposing Ohtani would prove costly.

The Dodgers fans are left panicked with Shohei Ohtani

Fans are more concerned as Roberts hinted at Ohtani’s hamstring injury. “Should we be more worried about the fact that it’s hamstring-related?” One fan asked.

In baseball, a normal hamstring injury usually keeps a player out for four to six weeks. The Dodgers really want to avoid that with Ohtani.

“60 IL stint incoming,” another fan predicted. 

The explosive burst required for sprinting out of the batter’s box, combined with sudden stops during fielding, makes these strains both frequent and prone to lingering. Ohtani, being a two-way player, gets exposed to this risk more.

“Just let Ohtani rest for one day. He was supposed to be on a rest day after pitching yesterday anyway,” One user suggested.

“Shohei needs to be off after pitching,” another agreed.

Ohtani had a pitching and batting day in the second game against the Pirates, then had batting on Thursday, and then again, tomorrow he will come to bat. According to the fans, Shohei Ohtani should be given a rest for tomorrow as a precautionary measure.

The Dodgers are currently 44-25 in the division and a cool 9 games ahead of the second-ranked San Diego Padres. So, they have the opportunity to bench Ohtani for at least a few games. That will ensure Ohtani’s availability in the postseason. “Ohtani and Justin Wrobleski both hurt… I see a River call up,” another added.

“Tough blow for the Dodgers. Hopefully both Justin Wrobleski and Shohei Ohtani recover quickly; losing key players to injury is the last thing any team wants, especially at this stage of the season,” one user remarked. Tyler Glasnow is yet to return, and the Dodgers are being more careful with Ohtani, so Wrobleski is important in the rotation. For now, Roberts’ assurance hints at a minor precautionary measure, but fans are skeptical.

“Dave lies so much,” one fan responded.

Despite Roberts’ assurance of putting Ohtani on the field tomorrow, fans are far from believing him. The Dodgers fans know the pain of missing Shohei Ohtani for a long time, and they don’t want the repetition again.