On Friday night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, fans witnessed perhaps the greatest game by a player in the history of baseball, and one of the handful of greatest individual performances in any sport ever. But Shohei Ohtani’s performance shouldn’t be of interest just to sports fans. His triumph offers all of us a ray of hope at a troubled time.
Ohtani, the most talented baseball player in history, put on a show for the ages. Facing the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, looking to clinch a berth in the World Series for the Dodgers, Ohtani threw a two-hit, 10-strike-out gem over six-plus scoreless innings. He also hit three monstrous home runs, which together traveled more than 1,300 feet, including one towering blast that cleared Dodger Stadium. (He is only the seventh player in history to hit it out of that park, and now he has hit eight home runs of at least 450 feet.) You may never again in your life see a ball hit that far, that majestically.
The moment Ohtani made contact with the ball, William Contreras, the Brewers catcher, turned away. The pitcher, Chad Patrick, looked down at the ground, not even bothering to turn around.
Continue Reading on The Atlantic
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.