So call me a “your grass is greener” kind of guy, that’s fine. Truth is, I’ve always liked the Dodgers except when they were playing (my favorite) the Braves. But that was more back when Hank Aaron was playing. Hank was The Man. Kansas City has rated highly with me, too. I grew up just four hours north of Kansas City, and we went to several KC games. Good stuff.
When Shohei Ohtani came over from Japan in …. 2017, I think …. I was intrigued with him. This guy who’s both a blazingly fast pitcher, a guy who can hit with POWER, and a guy who’s FAST on the base paths.
Plus, and maybe most important, he ENJOYS playing the game. He’s appreciative of his opportunity. HE’s living the dream that nearly every kid in America yearns for …. playing major league ball.
Shohei has done very well for himself … two MVPs so far, I’m sure more to come. His HR count is down this year, a little (5 so far, I think the leader has 8), but his batting average is sky-rocketing and that’s a really good thing to see. Long term, I think batting average is more important than homer count, all things considered. Mookie Betts is batting ahead of Shohei, and if Mookie can get on base (which he frequently does) then Shohei can drive him in. And Freddy Freeman, another great hitter, is right behind Shohei. That’s a fierce threesome.
The frustrating thing is that I’ve seen several times this season, already, where Mookie, Shohei, and Freddy will get on base — bases loaded — and nobody lower in the lineup can drive them in. I guess that’ll take care of itself as things balance out.
On paper I think the Dodgers have the best team in baseball. With Shohei on the team, they’re the team I’m rooting for now. We’ll see how it goes. Either way, I hope Shohei has another stellar year. Something tells me he will.