Shohei Ohtani is having a unique postseason when it comes to his production. He is excelling with men on base but has yet to record a hit otherwise. The trend continued last night.
Ohtani is 7-for-31 overall this postseason. He is 0-for-22 with the bases empty. Considering he is the leadoff hitter, that is not expected. Ohtani delivered a monster home run in the eighth inning to all but end any hope of a comeback from the New York Mets.
OHTANI BREAKS THE GAME OPEN FOR THE #DODGERS!!! ???????????????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/RJJV4XxyoU
— World Baseball Network (@WorldBaseball_) October 17, 2024
Ohtani also recorded his 17th hit in his last 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Needless to say, he is producing when he is in a position to drive in runs. He has eight RBIs this postseason. After the game, Teammate Mookie Betts spoke to reporters about the criticism of Ohtani being unable to hit with the bases empty in October.
“I have no idea why people are talking about Shohei. He’s the best player on the field every day,” Betts said. “Oh, he hasn’t got a hit with nobody on. Who cares? It’s Shohei Ohtani. Everybody knows who he is every time he steps into the box. Everybody is expecting something to happen.”
It seems like a crazy thing to even criticize anybody on. Ohtani is still producing, but the standard he has set for himself is so high that he has opened himself up to even the smallest of critiques.
“That’s the problem. He’s done it so many times that you expect it,” said Betts. “He’s a human for 20 at-bats. It’s Shohei Ohtani.”
Like Aaron Judge, Ohtani is a victim of other teams’ understanding of the magnitude of the moment. In the postseason, teams are not going to give him great pitches to hit, maybe one an at-bat. That means he has to swing at pitches he would not usually go for to put the ball in play.
Ohtani does not even have the lowest batting average among the leadoff hitters remaining. It is actually Mets superstar Francisco Lindor. Regardless of his batting average, he is third among all players in the postseason in RBIs. He is making teams pay when it counts the most.
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Photo Credit: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers rounds the bases after hitting a home run. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
