Shohei Ohtani reaches World Series summit in first season with Dodgers
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Shohei Ohtani celebrating with his teammates after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to seal their title on Oct 30.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani’s unprecedented first season with the Dodgers ended in another breakthrough on Oct 30, as the Japanese slugger hoisted the World Series trophy for the first time after Los Angeles beat hosts New York Yankees 4-1 for the title.
The first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, Ohtani struggled at the plate during the series after suffering a shoulder injury in Game 2 but that did not detract from his enjoyment of the victory.
“I’m honoured to be part of a season where we played the longest, and to be able to get to know this team,” he said after their 7-6 Game 5 victory over the Yankees.
“My first year and experience winning a World Series has been a tremendous honour.”
After winning two MVP awards as a member of the Los Angeles Angels but never reaching the post-season, Ohtani signed a record 10-year, US$700 million (US$925.3 million) contract with the Dodgers in December.
The 30-year-old made the bold move to defer the vast majority of that money until a later date, allowing the team to sign top talent like fellow Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and improve their chances of a title run.
Ohtani surprised fans in February when he announced that he had married, and soon after was forced to navigate a scandal that involved his former translator stealing millions from him to pay off gambling debts.
“We were able to get through the regular season because of the strength of this team, this organisation,” he said.
“And the success of the post-season is very similar to how we were able to pull it off during the regular season. Again, the strength of the organisation.”
While Ohtani did not pitch this season after undergoing off-season elbow surgery, he is still all but certain to win the National League MVP award. He is expected to return to the mound in the spring.
After the franchise won their eighth title and first since 2020, they will now look to build a dynasty around Ohtani, World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, and three-time World Series champion Mookie Betts.
Freeman had overcome a challenging season both on and off the field.
The 35-year-old hit home runs in each of the first four games of the series, including a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 – the first in World Series history.
“This is everything,” he said after receiving the MVP and World Series trophies. “I wouldn’t be here without the support of everybody in these shirts tonight.
“It has been a grind these last three months but this organisation and my family, this is what it’s all about right here.”
World Series MVP Freddie Freeman had overcome a challenging season both on and off the field.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
In July, Freeman’s son Max was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare neurological condition that left him temporarily paralysed and on a respirator. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Freeman then fractured his right middle finger while fielding a ground ball the following month, and in the final week of the regular season he suffered a right ankle sprain that forced him to miss post-season games.
Before his Game 1 grand slam, he had not hit a home run since Sept 16 and his availability for the World Series was in question as his swollen ankle required hours of treatment daily.
It looked like the Dodgers would have to pack the champagne for the trip back to the West Coast when the Yankees took a 5-0 lead on Oct 30, but miscues in the fifth inning allowed the visitors to stage a comeback.
“We were all saying it the first three innings, just get one, just chip away at it, we can do this,” Freeman said.
“Once there are a couple mistakes that happen, you have to capitalise. They gave us some extra outs and we were able to do that.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said: “I definitely didn’t plan it out this way.
“Certainly a lot of emotions from the way it started to certainly the way it finished. Certainly all the momentum was on the side of the Yankees.”
His Yankees counterpart Aaron Boone was left heartbroken by the error-strewn manner of the defeat.
“As I said to the guys, obviously it stings now,” Boone said. “But this is going to sting forever.” AFP, REUTERS
