"A lot of convincing": Shohei Ohtani's teammate Jack Flaherty on keeping tequila shots tradition alive in Dodgers' parade after World Series win
At the World Series parade, Shohei Ohtani, Jack Flaherty and the rest of the LA Dodgers had a lot to drink. Ohtani received a lot of attention, but Flaherty shared that it wasn't the Japanese's first time, before adding that he did have to convince him.
In a clip from the "Run It Back" podcast on Wednesday, hosts Lou Williams and Chandler Parsons said it looked like Ohtani had never had alcohol before, and wondered if Flaherty had ever seen the slugger drink. Flaherty then shared a tradition the Dodgers players have been doing:
"So that's the thing, after every series that we won, we would take a tequila shot as a team," Flaherty said. "It was always time for a shot, but I was always next to Sho and we would take our tequila shot together. It took a lot of convincing that day to get him to do it."
Ohtani and Flaherty were key contributors to the Dodgers' postseason run that culminated in winning the World Series. Ohtani's first postseason was a success and the Dodgers won both of Flaherty's World Series starts against the New York Yankees.
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Flaherty knows he might not be back with the Dodgers:
"It's yet to be seen," Flaherty said on Tuesday, via 'The Rich Eisen Show' (17:00). "Things happen a little slower in baseball. I think anything is possible. I loved playing here. I loved my time here. I'm hopeful for good things to happen these next weeks or months, whatever it ends up being."
He expressed joy over his tenure with the Dodgers, which began in August following a midseason trade from the Detroit Tigers. The team had a rash of pitching injuries that made Flaherty essential to their roster, but they may not have that issue again in 2025 when everyone is healthy again.