"Don't compare yourself to Bones-Jersey"", "The line-up is not under my control"...오타니 '타순 논란'에 할말 다했다

Oct 16, 2024

LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani looks complicated in an interview held at the Citi Field press room on the 16th (Korea time). AP Yonhap News

Otani is shouting fighting to his teammates after hitting a double in the fourth inning in the first NLCS game against the New York Mets on the 14th (Korea time). ImagesYonhap News

While Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who created a historic season by achieving 50 home runs and 50 steals this year, has not been able to produce a strong force in the postseason, opinions are divided over why.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani's recent slump, `The bat often goes out of the heating zone.' In other words, the proportion of being deceived by the attraction has increased.

However, there is a big difference between when there is a runner and when there is no runner. This postseason, Ohtani marked four hits in five at-bats, one home run, two walks and three walks, respectively, in the situation where there are runners. On the other hand, when there was no runner, he was lethargic with no hits in 19 at-bats and 10 strikeouts. If the leadoff fails when there is no runner, the team's batting lineup is difficult to gain strength. This is why there are growing calls to adjust Ohtani's batting order.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is interviewing. AP Yonhap News

However, Roberts said in an official interview at Citi Field on the 16th (Korea time), a day before Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, that he has no intention of changing `Otani's batting order.' It's just fun to see how Ohtani's situation, which had a lot of concerns when he couldn't hit the scoring position at the beginning of the season, has changed now. Now, I'm good at playing when there are runners, so I have to adjust it to the batting order where a lot of runners gather? It's a little bit like a comedy"I can change the other lineups, but I'm not going to move Ohtani to number four or three."

Ohtani moved to the Dodgers this year and hit 0.310 (197 hits in 636 at-bats), 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, 134 runs, 59 steals, 0.390 on-base percentage, 0.646 slugging percentage and 1.036 OPS in the regular season. However, in the fall baseball league, which is playing for the first time, he has a batting average of 0.222 (6 hits in 27 at-bats) with one home run, five RBIs, and an OPS of 0.677 in six games until the second game of the NLCS.

However, just because he performed MVP-level in the regular season, there is no guarantee that he will perform well in the postseason. There are many cases where this is not the case. Barry Bonds finished first and second in MVP voting in 1990 and 1991 when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he did not hit a home run in 13 NLCS games for the second year in a row and batted .156 (7 for 45).

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees also won the AL Rookie of the Year with 52 home runs, 114 RBIs and an OPS of 1.049 in 2017, and then struggled in the postseason with a batting average of 0.188 (9 hits in 48 at-bats) and 27 strikeouts from 57 at-bats.

New York Yankees Aaron Judge hits a two-run home run in the seventh inning in the second ALCS game on the 16th (Korea time). AP Yonhap News

Ohtani also spoke as controversy grew around him, such as 'The role as a leadoff is insignificant' and 'The batting order should be adjusted toward the centerline'. Ohtani, who entered the Citi Field press room after training on the day, seemed determined and expressed his thoughts on the matter.

First of all, Ohtani said of the batting order change "No matter what ball the opponent throws at me, my plan is the same. I didn't care too much about how they were targeting me."The lineup is not something I should be thinking about. In any situation, I try to be as flexible as possible no matter what type of batting order I am in."

After hearing that Bonds and Judge were also sluggish in the postseason, it is difficult for me to say whether I am on the same level as those players. Again, it's my first postseason stage, so I can't rely on past experiences or flashbacks. But all I know is that I'm dealing with a good team, a better team, and I'm facing the best pitchers. It's not that easy to get a hit and get a good result."

He then said "What I'm saying is 'Whatever happened in the previous game, that's it." And I want to focus on the next game. It's a part where you can look back when it's all over."

Meanwhile, the Dodgers are expected to be Walker Buehler and the Mets are Luis Severino in Game 3 of the NLCS at 9:08 a.m. on the 17th at Citi Field. In Game 3 of the Division Series, Buehler allowed seven hits and seven runs in five innings, leading to a loss. Severino allowed six hits and three runs in six innings in Game 2 of the Division Series, which had nothing to do with victory or defeat.