ANAHEIM, Calif. – Shohei Ohtani has returned to the stadium and the city where he did just about everything except win.
The two-way superstar was back at Angel Stadium on Tuesday night for his first regular-season game as a visitor with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani left the Angels as a free agent last winter after six losing seasons, making a move that has taken him a whole lot farther than just those 30 miles up the I-5 freeway from Anaheim to Los Angeles.
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After becoming a baseball sensation despite playing for the perpetually struggling Angels, Ohtani is now on the best team in the majors. While the Halos trudge to the end of yet another season as one of the worst teams in the big leagues, Ohtani is just a few weeks away from his MLB postseason debut.
But first, he'll suit up for two games in the visitors' clubhouse at the stadium where his transcendent presence was the most exciting thing about six otherwise grim years of Angels baseball.
"I think it's going to be special for everyone," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “Just speaking for Shohei, it might be a little bit of closure, in the sense of it was such a great time here in Anaheim, as far as getting with the fans. They'll get a chance to show their appreciation tonight. It will be a nice moment, but I know he's excited to be a Dodger and competing for a championship.”
Exactly one year to the day after his final appearance for the Angels, Ohtani was in his usual spot as the Dodgers’ leadoff batter and designated hitter when the Freeway Series began in Anaheim.
The Angels didn't provide a major in-game tribute to Ohtani, only displaying a video graphic highlighting his many achievements — including his two AL MVP awards — when he stepped up as the game's first hitter.
Ohtani, who received more cheers than boos from a crowd with at least half of the fans wearing Dodger Blue, grounded to first in the first inning. But he ripped a triple down the right-field line in the third, tying the game with his 99th RBI of the season. He scored moments later on Mookie Betts' single to put the Dodgers ahead.
Ohtani has been everything the Dodgers anticipated when they signed him to the richest contract in baseball history. He leads the National League with 44 homers while stealing 46 bases and posting a whole slew of offensive numbers that are remarkably similar to his stats during his final season in Anaheim.
The difference is his new uniform: Ohtani's brilliance is now supplemented by players and an organization with years upon years of winning tradition. The Angels are headed to their ninth straight losing season and 10th straight non-playoff season — both the longest active streaks in the majors.
Ohtani's move from outside the pennant race in Anaheim onto center stage in Los Angeles has been smooth both personally and professionally, Roberts said.
“It's been pretty seamless, and I say ‘closure’ because I think it's more for the fans," Roberts said. "I think Shohei rightfully has moved on. He does a great job separating real life from work. But I think this moment is something that people are looking forward to. They've marked it on their calendars.”
The Angels could finish with the worst record in franchise history this season, but first-year manager Ron Washington is looking forward to seeing Ohtani's return to the stadium that was packed with his fans for the previous six seasons.
“Very special ballplayer,” Washington said. “Every time you get a chance to be on the same field with him, you try to keep your jaw up, because he can do some things out there that make it fall. I just hope we can keep our jaw up, instead of watching him and have it fall. You might be able to contain him, but you can't stop him, and all I want to do is contain him.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB