MLB Sets Unbelievable Ratings Record As Shohei Ohtani Retakes Throne

He can hit you, he can strike you out, he can even outrun you … the king of baseball is 100% back.

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Sunday night that their superstar Shohei Ohtani, who has still been dominating at the plate, would make a return to pitching Monday for his 2025 debut.

Undergoing a second major surgery on his arm, Ohtani had to do nearly two years of rehab before we got to this point, but the wait was officially over when he stepped on the mound to take on the San Diego Padres. And the fans showed up, with Dodger Stadium selling out to see the two-way phenom pitch, and boy oh boy, did they get a show.

Following a terrible missed call on what should’ve been a checked swing on Padres third baseman Manny Machado that saw a run scored against Ohtani, he completely rolled after that. His fastball was 99-100 mph on average, his sweeper was clipping the competition and his splitter was trademark business as usual. Every single throw of Ohtani’s graded out as above-average in terms of MLB pitches. (RELATED: Former MLB Star Zack Cozart Declares He Will ‘No Longer Support’ Trump If US Launches War Against Iran)

Dodger Stadium witnessed history, and they weren’t the only ones. In fact, so many people were watching the game on television that it broke MLB.TV’s all-time streaming record.

Usually, a baseball game slated for a 10:10 p.m. ET start time on a Monday night isn’t going to tip the scale too much, but most teams don’t have Shohei Ohtani either.

According to the official Twitter account of Major League Baseball Communications, the Dodgers-Padres contest was the most-viewed ever in MLB.TV history. And to make it even crazier, it beats the second-place game (the old record holder) by an unbelievable 28%.

Monday night’s NL West showdown between the @Padres and @Dodgers marked the most-watched game in @MLBTV history, with viewership eclipsing the previous single-game high by 28%. pic.twitter.com/LhJ7Ighuph

— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) June 17, 2025

If I didn’t have to work early in the mornings, I would’ve been right there with America — “The Shohei Ohtani Effect” is REAL!