The Los Angeles advanced to the World Series with an overwhelming victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, but Game 4 of the NLCS was Shohei Ohtani’s night.
The superstar struck out 10 batters over six scoreless innings, and when he stepped up to the plate, he went 3-for-3 with three home runs, one of which left Stadium.
Ohtani rightfully earned NLCS MVP honors, but edited the trophy after it was awarded.
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team effort Ohtani had his name written over the NLCS MVP trophy and placed it in the clubhouse for his teammates to see.
In other words, his performance on the diamond already makes him one of the most valuable players we’ve seen in a long time, but the leadership he’s shown is just as important, especially with four more wins left.
Utility star Quique Hernandez spoke out against Ohtani’s actions with a comedic touch, stating that Ohtani’s historic performance shutout the NLCS.
“Shohei continues to lie that MVP is a team effort,” Hernandez said. “I was yelling at him that he was full of S’s because he was the one who hit three home runs and he was the one who hit 10 home runs that night.”
Ohtani’s performance was not only perfect timing for the team to close out the series, but also for him personally. Up to that point, the superstar was batting .158 with two home runs and 17 strikeouts during the postseason.
Ohtani appears to be back on track for the Fall Classic, but if the season doesn’t end in the World Series, neither his stellar NLCS nor the rest of the team’s efforts will mean much. The Blue Jays have a pitching staff dominated by right-handed pitchers, and Ohtani posted a 1.076 OPS against right-handed pitchers throughout the regular season.
Ohtani will probably get another shot at series MVP against Toronto, but he knows better than anyone that winning a championship requires a team effort.
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Photo credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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