LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is about to realize his childhood dream of playing in important games. There’s nothing bigger than the Major League Baseball playoffs. And the Japanese superstar isn’t nervous.
“I think the excitement of that is greater than anything else that I could possibly feel,” he said Friday through an interpreter. Ohtani is getting his first chance on the October playoff stage with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who open the National League Division Series on Saturday against the rival San Diego Padres. He spent the last six years with the Los Angeles Angels, who never had a winning record or made the postseason during his tenure.
Ohtani struck out then-Angels teammate Mike Trout to help Japan win the World Baseball Classic last year. He was a pitching and hitting star in Japan before coming to MLB. Now, fans on both sides of the Pacific are clamoring to see what else the record-setting superstar can do in October.
“I think it's more for us as fans to see that it's something that's new to him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “If there's any person that I feel that's going to be able to handle this, it's certainly Shohei.” Ohtani has proven he can change a game with his bat or his foot speed.
If he draws a walk, he can steal a base (he had 59 in the regular season). He can smash home runs (54) or score from first. “He has shown the ability in this last month to use the whole field, to get a hit if he needs to,” Roberts said.
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