Shohei Ohtani heads to his first World Series as Dodgers knock out Mets
Los Angeles wins the National League Championship Series 4-2 over New York to send Japan's two-time MVP to the Fall Classic vs the Yankees. Game 1 is on Friday (25 October) at Dodger Stadium.
Baseball Softball
The Sho goes on - to the World Series.
Shohei Ohtani has reached baseball's Fall Classic for the first time in his seven-year career after the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Mets 10-5 in Game 6 to win the National League Championship Series 4-2 on Sunday (20 October).
“It’s the place I’ve been wanting to play for a long time,” said Ohtani, who was doused with champagne in the clubhouse at Dodger Stadium, where his team will face the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.
“From this point on, I’m turning my sights to that and all I’m going to think about is winning it.”
Shohei Ohtani: "I want to finish strong"
Ohtani on this night went 2-for-4, scoring twice as the Dodgers bounced the resilient Mets to advance to the World Series for the first time since 2020, when they won the pandemic-delayed season.
The Dodgers captured the pennant for their 25th time and will play the Yankees in the World Series for the first time since 1981, the 12th time they meet on the game’s biggest stage.
The Yankees won the American League Championship Series a day earlier, 4-1 over the Cleveland Guardians.
The World Series will feature the expected MVP from each league, Ohtani and Aaron Judge, who led baseball in home runs with 54 and 58, respectively.
“They are a great ballclub, no doubt about it,” Ohtani said of the Yankees. “They’re loaded with great players and we need to have a one for all, all for one mentality.”
Ohtani managed to get to the World Series in the first year of a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers. In his first postseason, the 30-year-old has batted .286 with three homers, 10 RBIs and a .934 OPS in 11 games.
He has taken a liking to the champagne celebrations in the play-offs, but is eager for one more - this time with a ring on his hand, to cap a remarkable year when he became the first member of the 50-50 club despite still recovering from a UCL tear in his right elbow.
“It feels good no matter how many times you do it,” said Ohtani, who never advanced to the postseason in his six years with the Los Angeles Angels. “I want to do it one more time and end the year.
“There were some tough battles along the way but we got here as a team and we need to finish it as a team. I had a lot to deal with last year with the surgery and what not but I’ve managed to come this far in just a year.
“I’m almost there so I want to finish strong.”
Eyes on the prize: Shohei Ohtani is headed to his first World Series.