Blue Jays taking umbrage with Shohei Ohtani’s special treatment

The Blue Jays’ series with the Dodgers this week brought back nightmarish memories from the 2025 World Series.

In Wednesday’s game between the two teams, when Shohei Ohtani started on the mound and batted in the Dodgers’ lineup, Toronto outfielder George Springer spoke with the umpires about limiting the time Ohtani had between innings.

The gripe was the second time the Blue Jays have brought the issue up, the first coming in last season’s World Series.

Shohei Ohtani has pitched 12 innings across two starts this year for the Dodgers. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

During the Fall Classic — where Los Angeles outlasted Toronto in seven games for its second straight title — Blue Jays manager John Schneider complained about it as well.

That came to a head in the first inning of Game 7, when Ohtani had yet to throw a warmup pitch when the television broadcast returned from commercial. A three-minute delay ensued, and similar pauses occurred in the next two innings.

Schneider was later seen tapping his watch as a reminder to crew chief Mark Wegner to remember the time. 

Fast forward to this year’s series, and the Blue Jays clearly haven’t forgotten about October.

Ohtani is a special case, though. Most starting pitchers don’t need to worry about taking their gear off after running the bases or an at-bat. Ohtani, the sport’s two-way phenom, obviously does.

Blue Jays outfielder George Springer told the umpires to watch out for Shohei Ohtani’s warmup time earlier this week. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Per MLB’s rules, umpires can give pitchers more time to warm up if there are “special circumstances.”

Pitchers are typically given two minutes to get ready after the conclusion of the previous half inning. In addition, Ohtani’s hitting capabilities helps him exploit another rule stated on the league’s website: “If the pitcher is on base, on deck or at-bat when the (previous) inning ends, the timer begins when the pitcher leaves the dugout for the mound.”

Funnily enough, Toronto ended up winning Wednesday’s game 4-3, despite losing the first two games. The Blue Jays were decimated 14-2 in Game 1. In Game 2, Schneider was tossed for arguing a balk call on starting pitcher Kevin Gausman, leading to a second defeat.

Through 12 games, Toronto is 5-7, tied for third in the American League East. It’ll need to start by forgetting its past ills to return to the Fall Classic again.