How close was Shohei Ohtani to the Triple Crown? Exploring Dodgers slugger’s performance compared to batting champion Luis Arraez
There’s no denying Shohei Ohtani’s season is already historic. But it may have an edge to it if it were for a Triple Crown that he just missed on.
In baseball, a Triple Crown is a pedigree given to a player who leads a league in batting average, RBIs and HRS. The LA Dodgers slugger already has RBIs and HR in his kitty, leading the National League with 130 RBIs and 54 home runs. Sunday’s game was his last opportunity to finish above presently first-place Luis Arraez in batting average.
Ohtani entered the game four points behind San Diego Padres’ Arraez, who was eyeing his third batting title this season. However, after he went 1-4 against the Colorado Rockies, his season average remained stagnant at .310. Meanwhile, Araez recorded his 200th hit against the Arizona Diamondbacks to have his batting average intact at .314 as he went 1-3 in the game.
For what it’s worth, Atlanta Braves’ Marcell Ozuna has an outside chance to win the batting title from Arraez. He’ll enter Monday’s doubleheader game against the New York Mets with a batting average of .304.
The ever-improving Shohei Ohtani thanks support staff for historic season
Triple Crown or not, it’ll be hard for any slugger to achieve what Shohei Ohtani achieved this season offensively.
The Dodgers slugger finished with career highs in homers (54), RBIs (130), stolen bases (59), total bases (411) and hits (197).
“First and foremost, I think the most important part of all this is that I was able to play consistently throughout the whole year,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton, according to MLB.com’s Juan Toribio. “I’m very thankful and grateful for all the staff who supported me throughout this year.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts marveled at the season Shohei Ohtani had with big things expected out of him in the postseason.
“You’ve seen a superstar,” said Roberts according to Toribio. “I think the thing that I marvel at is the expectations that are put on him, that he puts on himself, and to still go out there every day and put on a show. I can’t imagine the pressure with all those expectations. But his preparedness, his work, is very, very focused.”
For Shohei Ohtani, when the NLDS starts next Saturday, he’ll be playing for the first time in October. The Dodgers, who have always been the favorites entering the postseason for the last couple of years, may see Ohtani as the missing piece to finally win it all this season.
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