MLB Insider Chris Dimino believes Shohei Ohtani will reach new levels of greatness once he tastes October baseball (Exclusive)
Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani is on an absolute tear. After launching his 24th home run of the season on Sunday, Ohtani has become the first-ever player to hit 20 or more home runs whilst striking out at least 100 batters of his own.
While Ohtani's personal play is beyond reproach, some have pointed the lack of his team's success as a damning point against the Japanese star. Over the course of MLB history, there have been so many players who have elevated the game on account of their spectacular style of play.
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While records in home runs, RBIs, stolen bases, ERA, starts, wins and saves are all made to be broken, some things represent a rarified level of play that sets a small proportion of baseball stars apart from the rest.
In a recent appearance on his show, The Ballfather Podcast with Reggie Roberts, guest Chris Dimino made reference to Shohei Ohtani in his point about how, according to him, the true stars are made in October. Dimino said:
"You know you don't become a legend until you do something in October you can be a great player you become legendary by doing it in October"
While regular season excellence is always something to get excited about, according to Dimino, the postseason is where legends are made. In accordance with his point, Dimino was hard-pressed to concede that Ohtani is one of the best ever yet.
Despite all his personal successes, and there are many, the Los Angeles Angels have not made the postseason since 2014, and have not won a playoff game since 2009. Highly motived by winning, the Angels' perrennial failure might be the ultimate factor inducing Ohtani's departure from the team.
In his monologue, Dimino referenced other stars such as Shohei Ohtani's teammate Mike Trout and former Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez as excellent regular season stars who never got it done in the playoffs. In Dimino's mind, an empty sheet when it comes to the postseason makes it very hard to consider a player as "great."
Shohei Ohtani still has plenty of time to show his October prowess
While it is indeed a shame to see a player like Shohei Ohtani miss out on postseason excitement, fans must remember that plenty of stars do not experience a deep playoff run until they are older than the 28-year old former MVP. With his personal stars showing no sign of slowing, it may only be a matter of time before Ohtani is within sniffing distance of the championship.