Shohei Ohtani has done next to nothing in the National League Championship Series. The Dodgers could sweep their way into the World Series on Friday, with Ohtani as a footnote in the NLCS story, but baseballâ€s best player has a flair for the dramatic.
Bring on the latest Babe Ruth comparison!
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Baseballâ€s contemporary two-way superstar can do something Friday that baseballâ€s original two-way superstar never did.
Ruth started three postseason games as a pitcher, never hitting a home run in those games. Ohtani starts his second postseason game as a pitcher Friday, looking for his first postseason home run as a pitcher.
He could hit a home run and be the winning pitcher Friday, because why not?
“I feel like Shohei is a superhero character,†Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas said.
In the division series, Ohtani had one hit in 18 at-bats, with nine strikeouts. After the Dodgers clinched, this was catcher Will Smith: “He didnâ€t do much this series. I expect next series for him to come out and hit like five homers. Thatâ€s just who he is.â€
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In this series, Ohtani has two hits in 11 at-bats, with five strikeouts. Over the NLDS and NLCS, he is batting .103 with no home runs, and he has struck out in 48% of his at-bats.
He has not hit five home runs in this series, as Smith had optimistically anticipated.
“Iâ€m hoping he will tomorrow,†Smith said Thursday.
If a player has a rough week or two in June and changes up his routine, you might hear about it for a couple of minutes on the pregame show. Ohtani had a rough week or two in October and decided to take batting practice on the field instead of in the indoor cages Wednesday, and it became MAJOR BREAKING INTERNATIONAL NEWS.
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Not just for fans, the ones that have made his jersey baseballâ€s best seller, and the ones set to flock to the grand opening of a Tokyo pop-up gallery Friday, featuring vinyl albums that pay homage to the walk-up songs and anthems of Ohtani and other major league stars.
Ohtaniâ€s teammates came out to watch that rare outdoor batting practice. The sound guys cranked up an extra dose of Michael Bublé. And, because it was Ohtani, he hit a ball off the roof of the right-field pavilion.
So, no, the Dodgers arenâ€t worried. And, no, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts isnâ€t about to move Ohtani down in the lineup.
“Obviously, Shohei’s not performing the way he would like or we expect,†Roberts said. “But I just know how big of a part he is to this thing.
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“We’ve got a long way to go. But I just like the work he’s putting in. And I’ll bet on him all day long.â€
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani runs the bases on a leadoff triple against the Brewers in the first inning of Game 3 of the NLCS on Thursday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
For Ohtaniâ€s hitting, pitching has been his kryptonite this season. In his 15 starts, including the one in the NLDS, he is batting .207, and he has struck out in 43% of his at-bats.
“I don’t necessarily think that the pitching has affected my hitting performance,†Ohtani said Wednesday. “Just on the pitching side, as long as I control what I can control, I feel pretty good about putting up results. On the hitting side, just the stance, the mechanics, thatâ€s something that I do. Itâ€s a constant work in progress.â€
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There was some progress Thursday, when Ohtani tripled to lead off the first inning. On the next pitch, Mookie Betts doubled him home.
“Itâ€s kind of like the Bulls playing without Michael Jordan sometimes,†Betts told TBS after the game. “So we get him going and then itâ€s really going to be hard to beat. You see what happens immediately. As soon as he gets a hit, good things happen. But heâ€s going to be there.
“Heâ€s going to be there when the time is right. We all trust and believe in Shohei.â€
Before the NLCS, Roberts was blunt about Ohtaniâ€s offensive struggles.
“Weâ€re not gonna win the World Series with that sort of performance,†Roberts said.
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That sort of performance has continued, and the Dodgers are undefeated since then. That makes it easier to believe in Ohtani, and in what he might deliver on Friday.
“Iâ€m expecting nothing short of incredible,†infielder Max Muncy said.
“All in all, Iâ€m expecting Shohei to pitch a great game, and whatever he does offensively is just kind of icing on the cake at that point. Itâ€s a tough thing to pitch and hit in the same game, especially in a postseason game. Heâ€s going to be fine.â€
The Ruth comparison only goes so far. When he pitched in the postseason, he was primarily a pitcher, twice batting ninth. He made 145 pitches in his first postseason start, a 14-inning complete-game victory.
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That is about all we can say Ohtani will not do. The Dodgers are so deep that, Roberts†fear notwithstanding, they could win the World Series with a slumping Ohtani. They did that last year, in fact.
However, with one mighty swing, Fridayâ€s storyline could be less about what he did not do and more about what Ruth could not do. Champagne showers are in the forecast.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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