On November 13th, Major League Baseball confirmed what had been obvious for months: Shohei Ohtani is the 2025 National League Most Valuable Player. Again.
But what truly separates Ohtani from the rest of baseball isn’t just the numbers, though historic. It’s how he builds those numbers, and how technology plays a central role in it.
A Season That Redefined What’s Possible
Ohtani’s 2025 campaign with the Dodgers was another one for the record books.
He blasted 55 home runs, drove in 146 runs, and posted a slugging percentage of .622.
On the bases, he swiped 20 bags, becoming the only player in MLB history to record two 50 home runs + 20 stolen base seasons.
On the mound, he carved through hitters with a 2.87 ERA and nearly a 7:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
In one stretch between July and August, he reached base safely in 32 consecutive games while also striking out 45 batters over his final six starts.
Ohtani's dominance was sustained brilliance, supported by a disciplined approach that most players only dream of maintaining.
Ohtani isn’t reinventing baseball; he’s redefining what's possible.
The Secret Ingredient: Precision Meets Feedback
Baseball has always been a game of adjustments. Millimeters on the barrel, fractions of a second in timing, spin efficiency on a fastball. The margin between a groundout and a home run can be invisible to the naked eye.
That’s where technology like Rapsodo enters the picture as an instrument of truth.
Ohtani has long been open about his use of advanced feedback tools. When he became a Rapsodo Technology Ambassador in 2024, he didn’t just sign an endorsement deal. He joined a movement toward measurable improvement.
“If you have access to data — use it,” Ohtani said in a 2024 Rapsodo feature. “I only wish I had started earlier.”
For a player like Ohtani, whose livelihood depends on both his swing plane and his fastball spin, those insights are invaluable.
Rapsodo’s technology measure every nuance of contact and pitch, from exit velocity and launch angle to spin rate, spin axis, and vertical break.
That data becomes the foundation for development. His hitting sessions aren’t trial and error. They’re hypothesis and validation. Every adjustment tested in real time.
Training Like an MVP: The Lessons for Everyone Else
Ohtani’s process offers lessons for every player, coach, and program, no matter the level.
The data doesn’t replace coaching. It amplifies it.
Data isn’t a shortcut. It’s a mirror.
"It's less about trying to change the numbers and more about matching them with how I feel. I focus on aligning my feeling with the data." -Shohei Ohtani on how he uses Rapsodo technology
Ohtani uses Rapsodo metrics to validate what he feels. Whether a pitch has the life he wants or a swing path stays on plane. For players and coaches, that same alignment between “feel” and “real” is game-changing.
Small adjustments create massive gains.
"When it comes to hitting, exit velocity and launch angle are the most important. For pitching, I mainly look at pitch movement. While velocity is related, I place more emphasis on pitch movement." - Shohei Ohtani on the metrics he looks at on Rapsodo
Ohtani didn’t add 10 mph to his fastball overnight. He refined his mechanics to maintain spin efficiency deeper into games. He learned where his launch angle translated best to his raw power. Rapsodo’s instant feedback helps coaches and athletes identify those micro-improvements that compound over time.
Accountability breeds confidence.
"I think it's important to use the device consistently every day. That way I can identify my own strengths and areas for improvement through daily sessions." -Shohei Ohtani on how he applies data to development.
Athletes who track their progress tend to train with more intent. Coaches who track their staff’s throwing and hitting sessions can tailor workloads intelligently. The best programs treat data not as judgment, but as guidance.
Feel is still the final frontier.
"By doing the same things every day, I can notice how my body feels or how the data changes. Even if I'm doing the same routine, somedays I feel sluggish or other times I'm tired, but still getting good numbers. I use that as a way to explore what might be affecting my performance." -Shohei Ohtani on aligning data with feel
Ohtani isn’t a slave to the numbers. He blends instinct with insight. The tech confirms what his intuition suspects, not the other way around. That balance is why his evolution feels so natural and why it’s sustainable.
How Rapsodo Fits in the Modern Baseball Ecosystem
Rapsodo isn’t just a piece of hardware; it’s become part of the player-development language. From youth and high school programs to colleges and MLB teams, Rapsodo technology is used to translate practice into progress.
A pitching coach can see if a breaking ball’s spin axis is slipping. A hitting coach can show an athlete how a two-degree difference in launch angle changes their slugging output.
And because systems like Rapsodo are portable and intuitive, that insight now happens where the game is played, in the cage, on the bullpen mound, or during a live BP session.
In Ohtani’s world, that means every throw, every swing, and every rep feeds a feedback loop of improvement.
What Coaches and Athletes Should Take Away
For all the headlines about Ohtani’s superhuman feats, the real story is how he gets better.
His success is repeatable, not the raw ability, but the process. He measures, adjusts, and iterates. That’s what modern development looks like.
Every program at any level can adopt the same mindset. Start tracking the metrics that matter. Use the data to communicate better. Turn every session into a lab for improvement.
It’s not about becoming the next Ohtani. It’s about becoming the best version of yourself with the same clarity that drives the greatest player in the world.
A New Standard for the Modern Player
Ohtani is building a blueprint for the future of baseball: a fusion of feel, feedback, and fearlessness.
The process isn’t about replacing tradition, but more about enhancing it, taking the “coach’s eye” and giving it 10,000 frames per second of precision with Rapsodo technology.
If this season proved anything, it’s that greatness isn’t just measured by stats it’s measured by intentionality.
And if you’re a coach, player, or parent watching this generation rise, the message is simple: Train smarter. Measure honestly. Learn relentlessly.
Ready to train like the 4x MVP and two-time World Series champion? Add the same technology used by Shohei Ohtani to your program. Visit our website or email sales@raspodo.com to learn more.
BONUS: If you want to see where you stack up against Ohtani as a hitter, try out our Ohtani Performance Calculator!
