All it took after six years of playoff-less baseball was a quick trip up Interstate 5 for Shohei Ohtani to win a World Series.
He’s already hungry for more.
Ohtani, who left the Angels for a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, capped off his first season in Los Angeles with a championship, playing through a partially dislocated shoulder over the final three games, and he plans on ending every year for the rest of his contract just like this.
“Nine more, nine more!” Ohtani shouted at Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman while spraying champagne in his face Wednesday night after the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in five games, per the Los Angeles Times.
“In his first year, he won a championship,” Friedman later said, according to The Athletic. “He’s like, ‘This is easy. We’re just gonna do it again nine more times.’”
Yankees fans would settle for one as their World Series drought now extends to 15 years following a catastrophic Game 5 loss in The Bronx, in which the Bombers blew a 5-0 lead with an embarrassing display of defense.
Defense was something Ohtani didn’t have to worry about in 2024 as he was only a DH while recovering from elbow surgery and will return to pitching next season.
But after beginning his first year in Dodger blue with the surprise revelation that he married wife Mamiko Tanaka, he made history by becoming the first player ever to record a 50-50 season, setting career-highs with 54 home runs, 59 steals, 130 RBIs, 134 runs, 197 hits, a .310 average and 411 total bases.
He’s a shoo-in to win his third MVP award in five years.
The 30-year-old also performed well over the first two rounds of the playoffs against the Padres and Mets, hitting .286 with three home runs and 10 RBIs.
Ohtani was just 2-for-19 with zero RBIs in the World Series, going 1-for-11 after injuring his shoulder in Game 2.
But he’s 1-for-1 with the Dodgers when it comes to championships.
