Why This Topic Landed in Japan

With the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong seen as the front-runner in the NL MVP race, a New York Post reporter—weighing the two-way workload in a segment—reportedly said Ohtani "pitched half the season" and called him a "part-time pitcher," and that phrasing got clipped and spread in Japan. But it was one remark within an MVP debate, not a consensus view of the American media or an established insult, and that distinction matters. The benching itself was due to trouble in his left knee and right arm and a serious batting slump.

Key Reaction Themes

  • Enjoying the "part-time pitcher" turn of phrase — The most common reaction was to relish the American media's wording and riff on it as "part-timer" and "side job."
  • Sharp takes grounded in his actual workload — "He really hasn't pitched even half the season," "his value as a pitcher alone is iffy"—granting the jab some weight.
  • Worry over injury and support for rest — "His lower body clearly isn't moving, it's obviously an injury," "favoring one part strains another, heal properly"—calm voices backing time off.
  • A note on overheated fandom — Some pointed to the pattern of turning on him in slumps: "maybe now the fans will settle down."

What Japanese Netizens Are Saying

The U.S. media's "part-time pitcher" phrase

A line about his two-way workload during an MVP debate, clipped and spread in Japan.

Sources: Yahoo! news, 2ch

Comments:

  • "Why do those guys have such needless wit, lol."
  • "'Part-time pitcher' cracked me up."
  • "Part-time auntie, part-time pitcher."
  • "Next it'll be 'part-timer,' I guess?"
  • "Well, he isn't working full-time, so now that they say it, it kind of fits."
  • "Him being treated like a part-timer is honestly hilarious."
  • "Pitched half the season (only April to June)—hasn't he only pitched three months? 🤔"
  • "The higher he was hyped up, the faster he's crashing, lol."
  • "Gotta laugh. He can't pitch all year, and even as a starter he can't rack up innings, so honestly his value as a pitcher alone is iffy. With his bat slumping too, right now he's just a weak player."

Benched amid left-knee and right-arm trouble and a batting slump

His first absence in 31 games, and reactions over injury and rest.

Sources: Yahoo! news

Comments:

  • "His lower body clearly isn't moving, so it's obviously an injury—why won't Roberts rest him?"
  • "When you favor one part, you strain another, so there's a long road ahead—I hope he heals up properly."
  • "It's the very image of that grim, traumatic stretch from back then."
  • "Injuries, being under the weather, natural ups and downs—those happen with anything, after all."
  • "Hasn't Ohtani read 'H2' or 'Cross Game'? They say right in those manga that 'pitchers are expendable,' yet he goes and does the two-way thing—reckless."
  • "He'd be better off resting for a while."
  • "Maybe now the Japanese fans will settle down a bit too."