LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani got what he came for when he decided to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers: a trip to the World Series.
“I really feel like we finally arrived. I finally arrived at this stage,” Ohtani said through a translator after Sunday night’s 10-5 win over the New York Mets finished the NL Championship Series in six games.
Ohtani hit .364 with two homers, six RBIs, nine walks and a 1.184 OPS against the Mets, including two hits and an RBI in Game 6. He’s batting .286 with three homers and 10 RBIs over 11 games in his first postseason heading into the World Series starting Friday against the New York Yankees.
When he signed his record $700 million, 10-year contract last December, Ohtani agreed to defer $68 million annually to give the team payroll flexibility. The Dodgers signed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, traded for pitcher Tyler Glasnow and signed outfielder Teoscar Hernández, among other moves.
“The goal was to get to this far,” Ohtani said, “and I also pictured myself getting this far with the contract that I’ve signed.”
Not pitching this year as he recovered from elbow surgery, Ohtani hit .310 with NL bests of 54 homers and 130 RBIs along with 59 stolen bases to become the first 50-50 player. He is likely to win his first NL MVP award after a pair of AL MVPs.
“He’s the world’s biggest baseball star. Not just the game, the world,” teammate Max Muncy said. “He shows up every day, you expect him to do something incredible and he very rarely disappoints. He works his tail off, he’s a great teammate. We’ve loved having him in the clubhouse and getting to be his teammate all year long has been an absolute treat.”
Ohtani is 18 for his last 23 RISP going back to his 10-RBI game on Sept. 19 when he became the first 50-50 player. He had an 0-for-22 stretch with no runners on base.
“There’s nothing in particular that I changed,” Ohtani said. “Obviously when there’s situations, I do change how I swing. But in terms of my approach, I’ve been continuing with my approach the whole time. I do think a part of it is it’s just a small sample size.”
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