Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts may think Shohei Ohtani can compete for a Cy Young Award, but one Toronto Blue Jays superstar isn’t convinced.
First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was interviewed by Yancen Pujols in an exclusive Spanish-language interview, and he opened up about the Jays nearly toppling the defending champs in the World Series.
“We knew we were up against the ‘dream team’ and everyone had us as massive underdogs,” Guerrero said, as reported by Aaliyan Mohammed of Newsweek. “People were already calling it, swept 1-2-3-4, done.”
Where he’s likely to raise some eyebrows, however, was his targeting of Dodgers star two-way player Shohei Ohtani, specifically for his pitching.
“But honestly? Shohei Ohtani wasn’t that tough to hit,” Guerrero said.
Guerrero even took it a step further, giving another Dodger pitcher praise while downplaying Ohtani’s performance on the mound.
“(Yoshinobu) Yamamoto was [difficult to hit],” he said, per Jonathan Vankin of Heavy. “He was nasty. He was the MVP. He takes the bat out of your hands. That guy keeps the ball down at your knees and strikes everybody out.”
Guerrero Only Had One Hit off of Ohtani — But It Was Huge
Guerrero wasn’t too far off base regarding Ohtani’s performance, as the generational star wasn’t effective on the mound.
Over 8.1 innings in two World Series games, he gave up 11 hits and 7 earned runs, resulting in an ERA of 7.56. He also was the losing pitcher for Game 4 at Dodger Stadium, during which Guerrero blasted a two-run home run that gave the Jays the lead and, ultimately, the win.
Outside of that huge hit, though, Guerrero was walked once and struck out twice by Ohtani in the World Series, even as he hit .333 against all pitchers.
So does Guerrero have a point? Perhaps. But in the end, the Dodgers as a team took Games 6 and 7 to secure back-to-back World Series titles.
As the Boys in Blue seek the first three-peat in nearly three decades, Ohtani will be back on the mound and at the plate, so Guerrero and Ohtani will likely have more chances to prove who really has the edge when they face off.
9 Responses
I don’t think many dodgers fans thought it was going to be a sweep by the dodgers. If anything we were worried about a sweep the other way!!! I have been a dodgers fan since 1977. I absolutely love the team we have now. Bravo to everyone in the organization!!! How do you get that many high profile guys that all sacrifice for each other and the team! It’s absolutely amazing and I will be watching and praying for the three-peat!!! It was the greatest world series of all time. It definitely took years off of my life.
Good for you! I’m with you..
Been a dodger fan since the 1960’s. We have a super team especially with Kyle Tucker in right. Get some healthy pitching and we are ready for a “three-peat” run!
He had a long off season to think about it. He is entitled to his opinion. He didn’t say the Shohei was garbage, he said he believes Yoshi is a better pitcher when facing him. How is that controversial? He’s an absolute beast of a hitter and I’m not going to stop respecting him because of his opinion.
I am A Dodger fan and no i did not think the Dodgers were going to sweep the jays yet the jays had so many opportunities to win the series . Yet Dodgers came through and best world series ever watched sad Vince Scully and Lasorda werent around to see this world series my congratulations to The all the Dodger players and every Dodger Fan
I have been a hard-core fan since the 1960s. But I value their trailblazing with signing Jackie Robinson and Fernando Valenzuela, more than anything else. So, my esteem for the organization would take a hard hit if they choose to visit the Whitehouse again this season. Especially after all that’s transpired this past year.