What's wrong with Shohei Ohtani? Dodgers star looks to navigate out of October slump
NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani kept his composure Tuesday, occasionally smiling, even mixing in some laughter, refusing to let anyone see him sweat.
If he feels the pressure of trying to carry the Los Angeles Dodgers to the World Series, he’s not publicly showing it.
The Dodgers have certainly done just fine without him making his presence felt, reaching the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets. But at some point, to get where the Dodgers want to ultimately go, they’re going to need him.
The Dodgers are loaded with stars, but it’s hard to imagine them riding in a World Series parade in downtown Los Angeles if Ohtani continues to struggle. He's just 6-for-27 this postseason and is homerless in his last six games.
The longer the slump goes on, the more pressure and scrutiny Ohtani will face. And in the postseason, every plate appearance, every swing, every strikeout, is magnified for all of the world to see.
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“It is the same game,’’ Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor said, “(but) there is more pressure. There's more at stake. Every pitch matters a little bit more. Each swing matters a little more. Every at-bat could decide whether you're going to play a game tomorrow or not.
“There's a lot of pressure.’’
Ohtani has had all eyes on him since he was a prodigy in Japan, becoming a two-way star in the Japanese professional league, and then an international star after arriving in the United States in 2018.
He wasn’t just being compared to contemporaries like Aaron Judge and Mike Trout and Ronald Acuna Jr. His comp was Babe Ruth, the greatest player the game has ever seen, who dominated at the plate, while also pitching early in his career.
The legend of Ohtani became almost mythical once he signed a record $700 million contract to join the Dodgers. It didn’t matter that he was recovering from Tommy John surgery and couldn’t pitch. He instead showcased his surreal power and speed combination by becoming the first player in history to hit at least 50 homers (54) and steal 50 bases (59) in the same season.
The baseball world eagerly anticipated what he’d do in his first postseason, and when Ohtani homered in his first postseason game against the San Diego Padres, it was as if a new Mr. October was born.
Well, that guy has suddenly disappeared.
Ohtani is 0-for-19 with the bases empty this postseason, hitting .222 overall. He doesn't have a single stolen base.
“This is my first experience in the postseason,’’ Ohtani said, “so I can't really rely on the experiences or my reflection in the past. But what I do know is that we've been playing against good teams, better teams, with their best pitchers. So being able to get base hits, put up results, isn't as easy maybe as it could be.’’
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has faced a barrage of questions about the slump. He insists there's no temptation to drop Ohtani from the leadoff spot in the lineup, believing one swing can change everything.
“There have been times that he has to reset,’’ Roberts said. “Sometimes, certain pitchers sort of kind of trigger bad habits. And you've got to identify that to then reset.
“So, I do feel that he's cognizant of that. My expectation is that he's going to reset today.’’
Ohtani, who is 4-for-20 with no extra-base hits and 12 strikeouts since his three-run homer and single in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Padres, insists that his approach hasn’t changed. He doesn’t feel like his swing is out of whack. Yet, he looked clueless in Game 5 of the NLDS against Yu Darvish, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Left-hander Sean Manaea struck him out twice and kept him hitless in three at-bats on Monday.
Even Roberts was alarmed by how much Ohtani was chasing pitches outside the strike zone, particularly against Darvish, wondering if perhaps it was a mental obstacle since Darvish was Ohtani’s idol growing up.
“I do feel OK at the plate,’’ Ohtani said. “I do feel like I should recall back to the times when I feel good and perhaps incorporate that into it. …. Regardless of however they are pitching to me, my plan is to stay with the same approach as much as possible, and not really be too focused on how they attack me.’’
Certainly, it’s not as if Ohtani is the first star to struggle early in his postseason career.
The bigger the star, the more focus put on him by opposing staffs. They spend so much time pitching carefully to the stars that frequently the heroes are the players no one pays attention to in the lineups.
“You see teams make a huge emphasis on Shohei,’’ Dodgers center fielder Kevin Kiermaier said, “just like we do for other teams’ biggest guys. You hear the pitchers always talking, 'Hey, you can’t let so-and-so beat you.' Then, the scouting reports are so dialed in at this point, they’re making sure they’re attacking your weakness. These guys are having meetings at midnight, like, 'How are we going to get this guy out.’ It’s not easy when the opposition is solely focused on certain guys.’’
Dodgers 15-year veteran reliever Daniel Hudson, who is pitching in his seventh postseason series, knows the drill. He sits in all of the pitchers’ meetings. He studies the reports.
The emphasis is always on the biggest stars. Shut them down, and take your chances with the rest.
“There’s certain guys in the lineups that you don’t want to beat you,’’ Hudson said. “I’m not saying you pitch around them, but you pitch them more carefully. ...
“In these type of games, there’s definitely guys in each lineup that you just are not going to let beat you.’’
Go ahead, look at the evidence.
Barry Bonds, the home-run king and seven-time MVP, hit .196 in his first five postseasons with just one homer and six RBI in 116 plate appearances.
Alex Rodriguez, the three-time MVP and 14-time All-Star, hit .230 with six homers in 178 at-bats in his first seven postseasons.
Just across town in the Bronx, Aaron Judge, who will win his second MVP, is hitting just .204 in 49 postseason games.
“Maybe teams are a little bit more careful when you’re trying to pitch around certain guys,’’ Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But they’re still really good players. They’re one swing away. … There's times when they're going to struggle, but there's also times when they're going to be huge.
“And whether it's Aaron Judge, Barry Bonds, Ohtani, you name it, there's a reason why they're superstars.’’
But when you’re a star, there’s a whole lot of pressure that comes with it, too.
And if you struggle, at the most critical time of the year, it feels like you’re letting the entire franchise down.
“I think those guys have certain expectations from everyone and themselves,’’ Roberts said. “And you have to be willing to essentially not blink …. knowing that opposing pitchers are not going to let you beat them. And you have to be willing to be patient.
“I played with Barry, and obviously he really came to life (in the 2002 World Series), and he was extraordinary in that series. Once Alex figured it out, he was obviously great in the postseason.
“But I do think there was a lot of pressure they might put on themselves initially. People expect them to do what they've done throughout their career, their stat line, as opposed to doing more.’’
We’ll soon find out whether this is a simple glitch in Ohtani’s historic season, or cause for concern, wondering whether he feels the burden of these surreal expectations in October.
“There's been a lot of eyes and cameras on him,’’ Lindor said, “and his ability to stay within himself and to not get too big, and to stay the course, that’s brilliant. He's done a fantastic job, he has managed to maneuver himself the right way.’’
Slump or not, the Mets aren’t about to get lulled into a false sense of security that it will last, knowing it could end with one swing of the bat.
“He's still Shohei Ohtani,’’ Mendoza said. “He's one of the best hitters in the league. He’s an elite hitter.
“He's dangerous.’’
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