Former Angel Shohei Ohtani flops on biggest stage but wins his first World Series

For Angels fans, it feels weird to not be seeing 50,000 headlines about Shohei Ohtani winning a championship. Everyone knows he did, and, sure, there are some photos circulating on social media. Instead, the headlines are devoted to the players that actually shined on MLB's biggest stage. Most of the news coverage is devoted to the performances of Freddie Freeman, Walker Buehler, and Mookie Betts.

What was billed as a superstar showdown, a clash of the titans, turned into a group butt-kicking. The Dodgers' depth and fundamentals wore the Yankees out. Despite his fame and previous accomplishments, a full-time DH did not produce runs in the World Series. There is not much to praise concerning Ohtani after that performance.

Many might say "but he was injured." First off, everybody is dealing with some malady at this point in the year. If you are on the field, you are expected to contribute. Even before his injury there was not enough production to live up to the hype anyway. Come on, Shohei, a .105/.227/.158/.385 slash line? Here were Ohtani's biggest plays in his first World Series appearance:

1. Game 1. Bottom of the 8th. 1 out. Dodgers trail 2-1. Tommy Kahnle on the mound. Ohtani crushes a double off the right-center wall. Juan Soto throws the ball back in to Gleyber Torres, and it bounces off his glove, high in the air, and onto the infield grass. With no one there to back up the throw (looking at you, Rizzo), Ohtani advanced to third base. Betts drives in Ohtani, the tying run, next at bat. A huge moment in the game, and the first of many Ohtani World Series moments, right?
2. Game 3. First at bat of the game. Ohtani draws a first pitch walk, and does not need to lift the bat off his partially dislocated shoulder. Freeman drove him in with a home run two batters later.
3. Game 4. Dodgers down 5-3. Edman on first. Ohtani singled to center off Tim Hill. Edman ended up scoring via a Freeman fielder's choice , but Ohtani retired on a Betts fielder's choice.
4. He was hit by a pitch in Game 3, nothing amounted from it.
5. He was walked in Game 2. Tried to steal second and was thrown out. He injured himself on the play.
6. Ohtani drew a catcher's interference in Game 5. Nothing came of it. That was his last AB of 2024.

And that's it! Those are Ohtani's biggest moments. A single, a couple walks, a hit by pitch, and a catcher's interference. Ohtani left three men on base in Game 1, including a pop out against Nestor Cortes with 2 men on, 1 out, down a run, and in the 10th inning. The huge 5-run comeback in the 5th inning of Game 5? Ohtani struck out with the bases loaded. Ohtani, who was widely lauded for his elite, clutch gene with men on base, in fact left 12 men on base during the World Series...and his team won in 5 games anyway.

Now, it should be noted that Ohtani was incredible in the NLCS against the Mets. No doubt. However, he did flop in the NLDS too. Much like in the World Series, Ohtani had one huge moment in the NLDS and not much else to hang his hat on.

Angels fans, you should be ticked off right now. This World Series result is as bad as it gets. The Dodgers win it all, and Ohtani wilted. The reverse 'Tungsten Arm' O'Doyle on the biggest stage. It turns out, teams can succeed even without their superstars carrying them. Huh, interesting.