We should never get used to Shohei Ohtani.
Even as he’s on the verge of a second World Series appearance and fourth MVP award, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ superstar outdid himself, with one of the greatest single-game performances in the history of not just baseball, but all of team sports.
In Game 4 of the NLCS, with his team already up 3-0 on the series, Ohtani reached his apex as a two-way player with three homers at the plate and 10 strikeouts in six scoreless innings. Unprecedented doesn’t begin to describe what he just did in a delirious night at Chavez Ravine.
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It all started with a first inning that, by itself, might have been the best single inning from a player. Ohtani took the mound for his second career postseason start and worked around a leadoff walk with three straight strikeouts against the most dangerous part of the Brewers’ lineup.
Jackson Chourio? He went down swinging on a 100.3-mph fastball. Christian Yelich? Frozen on a 100.2-mph fastball. William Conteras? Wiped out on three pitches, the last of them a nasty, 87.6-mph sweeper.
Unlike every other starting pitcher in MLB, Ohtani’s responsibilities didn’t end after throwing a scoreless first inning. He proceeded to don a batting helmet and hit a leadoff homer off Brewers counterpart José Quintana.
And by “hit,” we mean he demolished the ball 446 feet and 115.6 mph deep into the right-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium.
Three innings later, Ohtani one-upped that homer by demolishing a cutter from Brewers reliever Chad Patrick, sending the ball past the right-field pavilion.
That homer? 469 feet and 116.9 mph, sending the ball out of Dodger Stadium. While he was still keeping the Brewers scoreless.
And then, home run No. 3.
Facing Brewers right-hander Trevor Megill, Ohtani ripped a ball 113.6 mph to the opposite field to put his team up 5-0.
Meanwhile, on the mound, Ohtani just kept stomping on the Brewers.
There has never been a player like Shohei Ohtani. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
(Rob Leiter via Getty Images)
Ohtani hasn’t had the best postseason thus far, but that hasn’t stopped the Brewers from treating him like a Barry Bonds-level threat. They have thrown left-handers at him at every opportunity, trying to prevent him from getting hot.
There was a reason for that, as we all saw on Friday.
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