Shohei Ohtani: a gesture that shows he had no respect for Mike Shildt

Shohei Ohtani, as we know, is a guy who has a ton of respect for baseball. He's often seen showing his respect to officials, for example, but also to his opponents.

It's central to baseball culture in Japan, and it shows when you see his standard-bearer on the field.

A good example of this is his first at-bat of the game. Each time, he looks towards the dugout as he approaches the mound, and makes a motion with his helmet to show his respect for the opposing team.

But this year, something has changed: Ohtani has stopped doing this, but only against one team.

We're talking about the San Diego Padres, led by manager Mike Shildt.

Shohei Ohtani doesn't tip his helmet towards the Padres dugout anymore

“There is only one team and one manager he stopped doing that for.

We talk about manners & respect. I think his understanding is respect is a two-way street. Once you cross that line, he is aware of it.” pic.twitter.com/YE4P9n9a8V

– Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) November 17, 2025

In fact, Ohtani stopped doing it after a game against the Padres during the year where he got hit with a quick in the back. He handled it well at the time, but it was from that moment on that he stopped this sign of respect towards the Padres.

We know there's a big rivalry between the two clubs (whatever Max Muncy thinks), but obviously it goes deeper than that. Ohtani obviously feels that the Padres (especially Mike Shildt) disrespected him at the time, and respect is mutual.

It will be interesting to see how all this plays out in 2026, given that Shildt is no longer the Padres' manager and Suarez is a free agent. But what we can assume is that the first game will say a lot about what Ohtani thinks of the Padres' 2026 edition.

Does he have a beef with new manager Craig Stammen? Find out in a few months.

This content was created with the help of AI.