The Los Angeles Dodgers advanced to the National League Championship Series while superstar Shohei Ohtani batted just .056 in the NLDS.
His one hit in 18 at-bats is certainly alarming, but including the two Wild Card games as well, Ohtani is .148 with a .604 OPS. He hit a pair of long balls during Game 1 of the Wild Card round and has had just two hits since.
Although the Dodgers have shown how talented the are and displayed a next man up mentality, especially against the Philadelphia Phillies this past series, manger Dave Roberts recently spoke on how his team won’t win the World Series if Ohtani doesn’t get going.
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“We’re not going to win the World Series with that sort of performance,” Roberts said. “So we’re counting on a recalibration, getting back into the strike zone, and understanding when he faces left-handed pitching what they’re gonna try to do – crowd him in, off (the plate), spin him away. He’s just gotta be better at managing the hitting zone.
“I’m counting on it. We’re all counting on it.”
Ohtani has shown that he is more than able to bounce back from a rough stretch, but with the competition only getting stronger as October rolls on, it will be no easy feat.
During the regular season, Ohtani had quite the slump during the month of July. He batted .204/.321/.505 with a .826 OPS. He added nine home runs during this stretch, the third most in any given month, but it was an uncharacteristic 24 games from him.
Ohtani’s response was to go on an unbelievable tear to finish out the regular season. His August and September consisted of a .309/.431/.660 slash line and an OPS of 1.091. He added 17 of his 56 home runs in what turned out to be one of his most succesful stretches of the season.
If the soon-to-be four-time MVP can turn it around when it has never mattered more, the Dodgers can very well be rewarded with another title, but LA needs just eight more wins to become baseball’s first back-to-back champions in a quarter-century.
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Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
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12 Responses
Move Shohei to 3-4th bat in Series with Brewers. Can’t hurt to Shake things up!
Kim leadoff, Otani 2nd and give Freeman a kick in the pants as well.
That is a horrible suggestion. Kim leading off? Not with his strike out rate. If it is not Betts, then it has to be Edman. Remember, the only reason that Ohtani was put in the leadoff spot was to get him as many at bats as possible in a game. But it hasn’t been needed and actually hasn’t worked out. Worst of all, most of Ohtani’s home runs and have been single RBI’s which is way low for a guy that hit over 50 homeruns. If they bat Betts, Ohtani, Teoscar and then Freeman, you have alternating left right batters, plus if Betts gets on, then they have to pitch more carefully to Ohtani rather than throwing him all that breaking stuff on the outside of the plate that he looks foolish swinging at. Betts might need to steal more bases to ensure that Ohtani gets more pitches he can hit. and if Ohtani gets on too, then Teoscar and Freddie will benefit as well…
I’ve been saying the same thing for a few days. Put Mookie back in the lead off spot. It’s not like Otani is hitting very well or stealing any bases.
Shohei hit .105 in WS last year, with 0 RBI. I seem to remember the Dodgers beating the Yankees 4 games to 1. Baseball is a team sport, Dave shouldn’t put it all on Shohei.
I agree that baseball is a team sport, but Shohei Ohtani is the $700 million man. That sort of contract comes with expectations, and the Dodgers two-way star can certainly breakout in the batters box for the NLCS. I think Dave Roberts was more frustrated with the fact that his at-bats weren’t quality ones.
Yes, there are expectation’s, but Shohei deferred all but two million per year of his salary so the Dodgers could sign more players so I think he has done plenty to meet expectations, especially since he is in line to win the MVP for the second year in a row. Shohei needs to be put in the best position to utilize his talents and 2-4 in the batting order suits him better production wise than leading off. I agree with others that this is the change that needs to be made… For all of the Dodger offense.
The Dodgers like having Ohtani in the leadoff spot so he can get the most at-bats, but a change may be needed given his ongoing struggles this October. When Mookie Betts was struggling earlier in the year, Dave Roberts opted to have Ohtani bat second to switch the two superstars. Maybe that could happen again?
Any hit is better than no hit. He should stop trying to hit a Homer every at bat. Basic..
He will be fine dont worry dave
I think Dave Roberts needs to go … absolutely so TERRIBLE …
Another idiotic idea…