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Shohei Ohtani has been named the first Dodger selected to the 2026 All-Star Game, per the LA Times. He led all of Major League Baseball in Phase 1 voting for the July 14 Midsummer Classic. No surprise there — the man has been the most captivating player in the sport for years now, and the fans know it.

Ohtani’s journey to this point is one of the most remarkable in modern baseball history. He came to the majors with the Angels in 2018 as the two-way phenom out of Japan, and he delivered on every bit of the hype. He won AL MVP in 2021 and again in 2023, putting up seasons that looked like video game stat lines — hitting 40-plus home runs while also logging innings on the mound as a legitimate front-of-the-rotation starter. Then came the massive free-agent contract with the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season, a deal that reset the market and signaled the franchise’s intent to build something historic. His first year in Dodger Blue ended with a World Series ring, even as he rehabbed from UCL surgery and served exclusively as a designated hitter. Now fully healthy and continuing to rake, he’s the engine of this lineup. Leading the majors in Phase 1 All-Star voting tells you exactly where he stands in the game right now — no one is more popular, and very few are more productive.

This is Ohtani’s fifth All-Star selection overall, but his second as a Dodger, and it’s the kind of thing that just feels right. He’s been our best hitter for much of this season, and his presence in the middle of the order changes everything about how opposing pitchers have to navigate our lineup. When he’s locked in, the ripple effects extend to everyone hitting around him. Pitchers can’t afford to work around him without paying a price elsewhere.

For the Dodgers, having Ohtani lead the All-Star voting is a nice feather in the cap, but the real story is what he’s doing between the lines on a nightly basis. We’ve got a roster that’s been dealing with injuries and moving pieces around constantly — that’s been the reality for months now — and Ohtani has been the one constant. He shows up, he produces, and he keeps this team in games. The All-Star nod is earned, and I’d expect more Dodgers to join him on the roster as Phase 2 voting and player/coach selections play out. But he’s the headliner, and that’s fitting. This is his team.

Source(s): Staff (LA Times) | First reported: June 26, 2026 1:05 AM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers