Dodgers Announcer: Shohei Ohtani Tips His Cap To Every MLB Team, Except One

Shohei Ohtani is the best player in Major League Baseball, and arguably the best to ever play professional baseball. That alone would be enough to justify any level of arrogance he chose to display. 

But Ohtani has instead consistently displayed respect for his opposition, the game, and his fellow players. Before each and every first plate appearance, he tips his cap in the direction of the opposing dugout and manager. A simple gesture, but also a relatively unique one among his fellow players to demonstrate good sportsmanship. 

Through the first half of the 2025 season, Ohtani tipped his cap to all 30 teams. But after the middle of June, he stopped with one particular team: the San Diego Padres. And there's a simple explanation that has nothing to do with the Padres status as the most consistent competition for the Dodgers' NL West supremacy.

It's because Padres manager Mike Shildt had so little baseball understanding he instructed one of his pitchers to hit Ohtani on purpose.

Sep 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) tips his hat to the manager before batting against the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Ohtani Jokes With Padres Players, Has No Respect For Former Manager

It all stems from an incident from when the Dodgers hosted the Padres on June 19th at Dodger Stadium. With the Padres up 5-0 in the ninth inning, the Dodgers brought in Jack Little for mop-up duty. With one out and nobody on, Little hit Fernando Tatis Jr. with a 93mph fastball on a 1-1 pitch. It was the third time Tatis had been hit in a game against the Dodgers in 2025, which upset manager Mike Shildt. Afterward, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that there was no intent behind it, which, of course, made sense considering the game situation, the pitcher, and the inning.

"I’m taking starters out of the game, trying to get this game over with and get this kid a couple innings," Roberts explained to reporters. "And so that’s why, I felt, I took that personal. Because I understand the game, and I understand that it doesn’t feel good to get hit."

Shildt though, demonstrated his trademark lack of feel for the game, saying he didn't care if it was unintentional or not.

"After a while, enough’s enough," Shildt said. "Intentional, unintentional, the fact of the matter is I took exception with it."

Sure, intent doesn't matter, said nobody ever. Then, in the bottom of the ninth inning, Shildt instructed Padres closer Robert Suarez to hit Shohei Ohtani. Which he did, on a 3-0 count with a 99mph fastball.  Benches cleared during the game as well, with Shildt and Roberts getting into a tense confrontation on the field.

It's clear that Ohtani didn't hold it against Suarez, as he was seen at All-Star weekend a few days later joking with him about it.

But as Dodgers broadcaster Stephen Nelson talked about in a recent interview, he did quite clearly hold it against Shildt. Because he stopped tipping his cap towards the Padres dugout after Shildt's bewildering conduct.

"I'll give you something," Nelson said during an interview with ESPN LA. "Next time you guys talk about the Dodgers-Padres rivalry, if you notice, if you watch Shohei Ohtani at the start of every game, his first plate appearance, he walks to the plate, and he tips his helmet to the opposing dugout. Right, and then he does his salute. 

"There is only one team and one manager he stopped doing that for, and that's Mike Shildt and the San Diego Padres after what happened at Dodger Stadium, where they threw up and in at 100 with Suarez and hit him in the back. And he handled that with grace in the moment, he calmed the tempers for the Dodgers dugout, ‘do not come out here, stay in, I’m fine,' he laughed about it with Suarez at the All-Star Game, but in the ensuing Dodgers-Padres series after that, there was no more pregame salute. So we talk about manners and respect, I think his understanding is that respect is a two-way street. Once you cross that line, he is aware of it. And I thought that spoke volumes. He never said anything, nor will he ever, but that silence, I think, says a lot."

Shildt's behavior made no sense. Obviously, the Padres weren't pleased with Tatis being hit for a third time, and understandably so. That said, it's a byproduct of how teams pitch him, and given where the game was, it's clear there was no intent. For example, Tatis faced nearly 575 pitches inside and off the plate last season. Nearly 22 percent of total pitches thrown to Tatis this season were inside. 

That's not because the league is trying to hit him, it's because that's where he struggles. As most right-handed power hitters do. Inside, and down and away off the plate. Sure enough, roughly 49 percent of all pitches thrown to Tatis were off the plate, either inside or down and away. If Shildt didn't know that, that's on him.

Hitting Ohtani on purpose though, demonstrates a clear lack of understanding. And Ohtani's lack of hat tip demonstrates a clear lack of respect for how Shildt ran his team.

The Padres manager resigned after the 2025 season, followed by a wave of stories claiming that he'd been an extremely difficult clubhouse presence, who treated other team employees poorly. Makes a lot more sense now.