Shohei Ohtani isn’t like every other baseball participant.
This isn’t about him being a two-way participant when wholesome or his mixture of energy and velocity that produced the game’s first 50-homer, 50-steal season.
That is about how he offers with career-defining moments.
What’s at stake for his crew. The implications for his legacy. The tens of 1000’s of individuals watching in individual, and the tens of millions extra watching around the globe. The accountability of projecting the virtues of a whole tradition.
Different gamers make an effort to dam out such ideas or use them as gasoline to raise their adrenaline ranges. Ohtani known as them “ingredients to heighten focus.”
Reflecting on his seventh-inning single that drove within the go-ahead run in a 7-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Thursday that secured the Dodgers their most up-to-date division title, Ohtani described himself as being in a trance-like state.
“I was too focused to where I didn’t really think about being nervous,” he mentioned in Japanese.
Discover what Ohtani mentioned. He wasn’t simply targeted. He was too targeted.
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting an RBI single and advancing to second off a throwing error by Padres proper fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. in the course of the seventh inning Thursday at Dodger Stadium.
(Ashley Landis / Related Press)
No matter he was feeling or considering, the end result was predictable. With two males on base and one out, Ohtani singled to proper area in opposition to left-handed reliever Tanner Scott to drive in Kiké Hernández and transfer the Dodgers in entrance, 3-2.
“Really, I only thought about getting a hit,” Ohtani mentioned.
Ohtani additionally drove within the deciding run yesterday in a 4-3 win over the Padres by which a loss would have diminished the Dodgers’ lead over their second-place rivals to a single sport. By advantage of their head-to-head document, the Padres held the tiebreaker over the Dodgers, which implies they’d have gained the division in the event that they completed with the identical regular-season document.
“No moment ever seems too big for him,” third baseman Max Muncy mentioned. “When he steps in the box, you feel he’s going to do something special. I say it all the time: He doesn’t disappoint. He’s incredible.”
Which is why the Dodgers can’t be counted out in October. Lastly, in his seventh main league season, Ohtani will carry out for the primary time on the postseason stage.
The Dodgers don’t have the pitching sometimes required to win a World Collection. This alone would get rid of most groups from being severe championship contenders, however how can any crew with Ohtani not be a severe contender?
“I think there are some people that when the moment gets big they run from it,” supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned. “Other guys embrace it and Shohei has embraced these moments better than any player I’ve ever been around.”
In a sport by which exerting better effort usually produces worse outcomes, Ohtani virtually hits on command.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani watches his double in the course of the eighth inning of a win over the Padres Thursday at Dodger Stadium.
(Ashley Landis / Related Press)
That’s what he did on Sunday in a comeback win over the Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers have been three outs away from their lead over the Padres being diminished to 2 video games when Ohtani led off the ninth inning with a tying house run. Mookie Betts hit a walk-off homer within the subsequent at-bat.
That’s additionally what Ohtani did final yr when taking part in for Japan within the World Baseball Basic. His crew trailing Mexico within the ninth inning of their semifinal sport, Ohtani began the comeback with a leadoff double.
“I had decided I was going to get on base no matter what,” Ohtani mentioned, as if that was a alternative.
Japan went on to win the event.
“You can obviously see how much he cares about winning,” left-hander Clayton Kershaw mentioned. “It’s really fun to see the energy, especially in bigger games that we’ve seen recently. He really, really wants to [win] and gets excited about the possibility of postseason stuff, which is awesome.”
Over the course of this season, Kershaw was provided a behind-the-scenes view of how Ohtani created his on-field magic.
“Just from watching him, I appreciate how diligent he is,” Kershaw mentioned. “He doesn’t ever look or say or feel like he’s tired. Every day is the same. He does his rehab. He does his warmup, his workout, he hits, he does his stuff, steals bases, hits homers and the next day is the exact same. I just appreciate consistency. I appreciate an attention to detail and a diligence. He does that. He does that really, really well, better than most.”
When nearer Michael Kopech compelled Kyle Higashioka to pop up for the ultimate out on Wednesday evening, Ohtani momentarily let his guard down.
The Dodgers are NL West Champions for the eleventh time in 12 years. However can they get to the World Collection this yr?
He laughed within the clubhouse as his teammates doused him in low-cost glowing wine and beer. He emptied a bottle of Budweiser on the top of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and poured one other down his again.
“It was the best,” Ohtani mentioned. “I’d like to do my best so I can do it again and again.”
The one different time Ohtani dumped alcohol on teammates within the wake of a season-long achievement like this, he was a 22-year-old participant on the Nippon-Ham Fighters.
That celebration was nothing like this one.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani pours beer within the locker room and celebrates after clinching a division title Thursday at Dodger Stadium.
(Ashley Landis / Related Press)
Not desirous to soak locker room carpets with alcohol, Japanese baseball groups stage their clinching events off web site, normally a few hours after the ultimate pitch. Solely beer is used, no champagne or glowing wine. Within the case of the 2016 Fighters, they celebrated their victory within the Japan Collection in an underground car parking zone of a Hiroshima lodge.
Eight years later, on the earth’s best baseball league, Ohtani as soon as once more towers over his contemporaries. He figures to extend in stature within the coming weeks. The playoffs are beginning.
