Mookie Betts Compares Shohei Ohtani to Michael Jordan After Historic NLCS Performance

Shohei Ohtani ended his playoff slump in spectacular fashion on Friday night, hitting three homers and striking out 10 in six innings in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers back to the World Series with a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

As the Dodgers are trending toward becoming a dynasty, Mookie Betts invoked Michael Jordan’s name to describe Ohtani’s historic performance on Friday night.

“It’s like we’re the Chicago Bulls,” Betts told reporters after the game, “and he’s Michael Jordan.”

The Jordan comparison might actually be underselling how amazing Ohtani’s feat in this game was. His stat line is one that has never been accomplished in the history of Major League Baseball.

Even more fitting is Ohtani did that at the same time his postseason struggles were starting to draw scrutiny. He did have a very un-Ohtani-like slash line of .202/.336/.384 in 25 playoff games dating back to last season, though some of his 2024 numbers were impacted by a torn labrum suffered in Game 2 of the World Series that required offseason surgery.

Whatever issues Ohtani was having at the plate, it didn’t impact what he was doing on the mound. His first playoff pitching performance in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies saw him allow three runs on three hits with nine strikeouts in six innings.

The Dodgers have steamrolled their way through the NL to reach the Fall Classic for a second consecutive year. They are 10-1 in the postseason with wins over the Brewers, Phillies and Cincinnati Reds.

Ohtani and the Dodgers will await the winner of the ALCS between the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 24.

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