Surprising World Series Stat Is A Reminder Of Shohei Ohtani’s Impact
Quick, who had a better World Series at the plate, Shohei Ohtani or Vladimir Guerrero Jr.? It’s actually a very tough question, especially since both players had an identical batting average of .333 in the Fall Classic.
Guerrero had one more hit (10) and one more run scored (7) than Shohei, but Ohtani had one more homer (3) and two more RBI (5) than Vladdy.
OPS might be the deciding factor. Ohtani finished the World Series with a 1.278 OPS, far superior to Vladdy’s 1.074. It’s a testament to Shohei’s ability to constantly get on base (he reached base no less than nine times during the 18-inning Game 3 classic.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have now won back-to-back titles, and Ohtani hasn’t been the World Series MVP in either one of them (Freddie Freeman last year, Yoshinobu Yamamoto this year).
Ohtani was pretty bad in last year’s World Series — .105 with just two hits against the Yankees in five games. He was significantly better at the plate this time around, and of course also started two games (he wasn’t pitching in 2024).
Even on the mound, though, Ohtani didn’t put his best foot forward in this World Series, especially in Game 7.
This is all scary for anyone trying to stop the Dodgers from extending their repeat into a three-peat (and perhaps beyond) … we haven’t even seen Ohtani play his best in a World Series yet, and LA has won two in a row.
The Vladdy comparison above isn’t meant to diminish Guerrero’s accomplishments for the Blue Jays (he had a great series and an even more impressive playoffs overall). More so, it’s to show how much Ohtani’s value can sneak up on you even when you think he’s having a mediocre stretch of games (by his standard).
As the 2025-26 MLB offseason kicks off, there will be endless discussions about which teams have made the biggest splash. An overlooked narrative is that, regardless of which contenders add, the Dodgers will still enter 2026 with the best player on the planet in their lineup (and rotation), and he’s still in his prime at age 31.
It’s not like LA won’t be adding, either (they’ve been linked incessantly to Kyle Tucker lately).