Feeling like I'm out of hell? The excitement of the first fall baseball that Ohtani can enjoy, 50-50 is a bonus
Sep 03, 2024
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This is why the interleague game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels is called the freeway series. Like the New York Yankees-New York Mets game and the Chicago Cubs-Chicago White Sox game, it is classified as a regional rival representing Major League Baseball, but few see the Dodgers and Angels as rivals. There is a big difference in recent performance and box office performance, as well as history and tradition.
Apart from anything else, let's just compare the grades. For the Angels, the postseason is over again this year. As of the 2nd (Korea time), he is in last place in the American League (AL) West with 57 wins and 80 losses. It is 18 games behind the Houston Astros, the world's leading team, and 17.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals, the third-largest wild card player.
The last time the Angels played fall baseball was in 2014. At that time, he was eliminated early after kneeling down to Kansas City with three losses in the division series. Since then, it has not exceeded the postseason threshold for 10 consecutive years from 2015 to this year. Among the 30 teams, the Angels and Detroit Tigers are the oldest teams to take the postseason stage. Detroit also had its last fall baseball season in 2014.
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When a pitcher needs to be selected, the pattern of focusing on the batter and selecting a pitcher if a batter is needed is repeated. This is because they don't know how to look at the trade market with the FA. Contracts are timing, persuasion, and an eye for the future, and in this regard, the Angels are evaluated as backward.
The Angels' current winning rate (0.416) is the lowest in 30 years since 1994 (0.409). The pitching has completely collapsed. Starting pitcher Patrick Sandoval, bullpen pitcher Jose Soriano, main catcher Mike Trout and infielder Luis Renjipo are on the injured list. Anthony Rendon has never filled half of his regular schedule since joining the team in 2020. Trout has also been suffering from injuries every year since 2019, when he won his third MVP. This year, he ended the season early at the end of April due to a knee injury. Trout still has six years left on its 12-year, $426.5 million contract.
On the other hand, the Dodgers are certain to win the NL West again this year. As of today, the two leagues are running at the highest winning rate with 82 wins and 55 losses. Although the starters groan from a series of injuries, they continue to rise steadily. It's all thanks to Debs. It is a fact that he has advanced to the postseason for 12 consecutive years since 2013. Out of the 12 seasons, 11 seasons excluding 2021 are district championships. The expected number of wins this year is 97, and if you make a spurt at the end of the season, you may win in triple digits for five consecutive seasons from 2019 except for 2020, which is the shorter season.
Except for winning the World Series in 2020, the Dodgers have always been considered the favorite to win the World Series, although they have never finished the fall baseball very satisfactorily. With good performance, crowd mobilization has always been No. 1 since 2013.
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Ohtani said he regarded the possibility of winning the FA market as the most important criterion for selecting a team last winter. In fact, during last season, everyone was talking about the prospective FA Ohtani's destinationJuss was singled out, and the Dodgers spent very little on the FA market in the winter of 2022, a year before that. After fully preparing to welcome Ohtani, he gave him a 10-year, $700 million contract in December last year.
Ohtani, who has escaped from the `hell on earth,' is dreaming of becoming the first player in seven years since entering the Major League. Of course, the ultimate goal would be to win the World Series. However, playing in the Division Series and League Championship Series is a heart-wrenching stage for him. On top of that, if you achieve 50 home runs and 50 steals for the first time in history, you can enjoy a more colorful October baseball.
jhno@sportschosun.com
