Angels fans gawking at Shohei Ohtani not hitting his weight in 2nd straight playoffs

Other than his numbers, he's been great!

Evan Roberts

Division Series - Philadelphia Phillies v Los Angeles Dodgers - Game Four / Harry How/GettyImages

In his first ever pitching appearance in the playoffs, Shohei Ohtani absolutely showed up for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In Game 1 of the National League Divisional Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Ohtani posed a quality start en route to a win -- the two-way superstar went 6.0 innings, posted a 9:1 K:BB, allowed 3 runs and 3 hits.

It's a good thing Ohtani is pitching this playoffs because his bat has gone silent for the second straight Dodgers playoff run...not that it matters, of course.

Angels fans gawking at Shohei Ohtani not hitting his weight in 2nd straight playoffs

During the Dodgers' playoff run last year, Ohtani did not look his normal self. He slashed just .230/.373/.393/.767 which is far below the standards of the best player on earth. Well, Ohtani is back to his old tricks of getting carried by his Dodgers superteam teammates -- so far this playoffs, Ohtani's slashing .148/.233/.370/.604. Ohtani recorded just one hit, a single, in the four games it took for the Dodgers to take down the Phillies. He is well on his way to striking out more this playoffs than he did last year (he has 12 strikeouts so far, he amassed 22 last year). He has still yet to record a stolen base in the postseason, after recording 79 total SBs in the past two regular seasons combined.

Speaking of last two years combined, Ohtani's career postseason slash line is .205/.333/.386/.720. To quote "Moneyball" which is the greatest sports movie of all-time, "He's lucky if he's going to hit his weight." Ohtani's career postseason batting average of .205 is lower than his listed weight of 210 pounds.

Now, all this being said, if there is one player who earned the right to be getting carried by his team...well, it's Mike Trout, but Ohtani is probably second! Ohtani wasted away in Anaheim as his teammates and the organization let him down over-and-over again. Seeing him get carried by his Dodgers teammates is tough for Angels fans, but he does deserve it after his otherworldly accomplishments still were not enough for the Halos to even crack the postseason.

The Dodgers are waiting to see whether they will be playing the Milwaukee Brewers or Chicago Cubs in the NLCS, so hopefully Ohtani is spending ample time in the batting cages. The Dodgers have shown that they don't need Ohtani to be at the peak of his powers to win a championship, so maybe none of this matters anyway.

Evan Roberts

Evan Roberts worked in professional baseball for 5 years, after pitching collegiately at Davidson College for 4. After graduating in 2018, he worked with the Boston Red Sox at their Pawtucket affiliate for the 2019 season as a Player Development Intern. He picked up with the Chicago White Sox in 2020, but after the Minor League season was canceled he worked with Team USA Baseball at their National Training Complex as a Trackman Stringer/Operator. From 2021-2023, he worked with the Los Angeles Angels as a Game Planning Strategist at their Arizona (ROK League), Salt Lake (AAA), Rocket City (AA) affiliates. He attended the Angels' last 2 Major League Spring Trainings. During Rookie Ball games, he coached 1st base and assisted the players & coaches in the dugout.