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Shohei Ohtani said he was "honored" to have sealed his first World Series title after the Los Angeles Dodgers victory over the New York Yankees in the Fall Classic on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Japanese superstar signed for the Dodgers in December last year after six fruitless seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, determined to get a taste of postseason glory.
Ohtani's quest for a championship paid off spectacularly on Wednesday as the Dodgers produced a stunning rally to defeat the Yankees 7-6 and clinch a 4-1 series victory.
Although Ohtani had a relatively quiet World Series -- failing to get a home run and suffering a shoulder injury in game two -- it did little to take the shine of his maiden championship.
"I'm honored to be able to be part of a season where we played the longest, and to be able to get to know this team," said Ohtani following a beer and champagne-soaked celebration in the Dodgers locker-room. "My first year and experience winning a World Series has been a tremendous honor."
Ohtani's debut season with the Dodgers had threatened to be engulfed by scandal before a ball had been hit in March, with the slugger's interpreter arrested for stealing millions of dollars from the player to pay off illegal gambling debts.
However, he would go on to produce a scintillating regular season campaign, becoming the first player in baseball history to amass 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season to help set up the team's successful postseason campaign.
Ohtani said the resilience and support of his teammates had helped him get through the season.
"We were able to get through the regular season, I think, because of the strength of this team, this organization," Ohtani said. "And the success of the postseason is very similar to how we were able to pull it off during the regular season. Again, the strength of the organization. Extremely honored to be a part of this."
Ohtani said that while Dodgers stars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman had been the driving force of the team, the success of the campaign had been due to the depth of the entire roster.
"I really felt like the professionalism of the two players (Betts and Freeman) really stands out, and aside from the two players, I do feel like we had a really good lineup with a lot of good hitters, 1 through 9," he said. "It really allowed me to elevate my game as well, not just technically, but also my professionalism."
© 2024 AFP
6 Comments
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Hiro
Not surprising he enjoyed it. This team was freaking tough and well through all kind of obstacles and trials. Half of their pitchers were on the injury list and couldn't take part, Freddie Freeman was batting with a injured leg, Mookie manage to recover in time from a wrist injury and Yamamoto missed most of the season due to injury and somehow had to perform at peak form at the playoffs immediately to keep them alive. And finally Ohtani got the shoulder subluxation injury which is ridiculous painful just moving the arm a little and he still played through the series. This was one heck of a year. The Dodgers deserved it. They were very united and rarely makes mistakes with explosive offense and great defenses. Everyone said they couldn't make it due their lack of pitchers, but they fought through all teams to win it.
Yrral
He was not MVP
Speed
Congrats to Ohtani and I do like him a lot but he played horribly during most of the playoffs and especially during the World Series w/ a 105 batting avg.
Fighto!
Ohtani should be very proud - he had an excellent season, and will be even better next year without any doubt. Having the shoulder injury towards the end was not ideal.
And?
stormcrow
The Dodgers for the most part dominated the Yankees. If all of the games had been like the first game, it would have been more exciting. Anyway, the Dodgers deserved to win because the Yankees just didn't bring it.
patkim
The Dodgers definitely deserved it and played team baseball as a whole. The Yankees, on the other hand, seemed so discombobulated. They didn't play good fundamental baseball and the disparity in the skill department showed. Pure talent does not win you baseball games. Hard work and attention to the details does. Also, hats off to Dave Roberts and the whole coaching staff. They were obviously prepared and coached their butts off. Well done!
As a side note, I really wish charges will be issued against those two knucklehead New York Yankees fans that tried to rip the ball out of Mookie Betts glove. In any situation, that would be constituted as assault and a crime. He could've gotten seriously hurt.