It is a well publicized fact that 30-year-old international superstar Shohei Ohtani did not re-sign with the Anaheim Angels of Anaheim because he wanted to play for a team that actually had a chance to make it to the World Series.

Although the extremely popular Oshu, Japan native slashed a Hall-of-Fame-worthy .274/.366/.556/.922 with 171 home runs and 436 RBIs in his six seasons with the Halos, he appeared in exactly zero postseason games with them, prompting him to sign a 10-year/$700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles on December 12, 2023; a contract that remains the single largest contract in MLB history.

During his first regular season with the Dodgers, Ohtani slashed a Hall-of-Fame-worthy .282/.371/.575/.945 with an MLB second-best 54 home runs (behind Aaron Judge‘s 58), an MLB second-best 130 RBIs (behind Judge’s 144), and an MLB second-best 59 stolen bases (behind Cincinnatti Reds infielder Elly De La Cruz‘s 67). He also represented the Dodgers in his fourth career All-Star Game.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the guy considered by many to be our generation’s Babe Ruth, went a horrific 2-for-19 (.105), with zero home runs, zero RBI’s, one double, two walks, and five strikeouts in the just-concluded 2024 World Series. For good bad measure, he was caught stealing in his only stolen base attempt, seriously injuring his left shoulder in the process.

Despite his un-Ohtani-like numbers in the World Series, he accomplished exactly what he set out to do – he signed with a team that not only got to the World Series, but won it … with a little help from his friends, for which he is extremely grateful.

“I’m honored to be able to be part of a season where we played the longest and to be able to get to know this team in my first year, and experience winning the World Series has been a tremendous honor,” Ohtani said following Wednesday’s World Series clencher.

Although Ohtani didn’t do so well in his first career World Series, this probably had more to do with his ‘left shoulder subluxation’ than what he or anyone else will admit to.

At the time of this writing, it was still unknown if Babe Ohtani will undergo off-season surgery on his left shoulder. That said, it is hard to believe that he will not be fully recovered by March 27, 2025, when the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs open the 2025 MLB season in (wait for it…) Tokyo, Japan.

Play Ball!

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