<figure id="attachment_397234" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-397234"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ad339776"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/7d18b1469fb5f44ea0cbb55692433aa7.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-397234" class="wp-caption-text">A pre-game view of the second game. Fortunately, the subluxation in his left shoulder is minor. I hope the fans around the world will see him play his best until the game is decided.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>The Phillies were predicted to win the National League&#8230;</h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The Phillies, not the Dodgers, are the real contenders.</span></p>
<p>Kazuhiro Sasaki, the great god of baseball who played as a closer in the Majors, predicted the postseason on a TV program immediately after Shohei Ohtani (30) and his Dodgers team won the regional championship. Baseball commentator Tomoya Satozaki likewise predicted the Phillies to win the National League championship.</p>
<p>However&#8230; The Dodgers won the District Series and the National League Championship Series in succession, advanced to the World Series, and won the first three games in a row (as of October 29, Japan time).</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> The commentators were not blind to the Dodgers&#8217; success. The more knowledgeable people in the Majors were saying that the Dodgers&#8217; chances of winning the championship were slim. Even I, myself, in a past interview, said that the probability of the Dodgers making it to the World Series was less than 5%. &#8230;&#8230;&#8221;</span></p>
<p>Nachi Tomonari, a Major League Baseball pundit, explains the reason for his prediction.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Nachi Tomonari, a Major League Baseball pundit, explained the reason for his prediction: &#8220;In order to win the postseason, it is important to have good pitching. However, the Dodgers pitching staff is full of broken pitchers, and there are only three decent starting pitchers. Of those, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (26) is coming off a breakdown, and Walker Buehler (30) has a five-run defense.</span><br>
<span class="strongInContent"> Yes, the Dodgers&#8217; batting lineup, which includes Otani, Mookie Betts (32), and Freddie Freeman (35), is among the best in the majors, but hitting is a tricky business. It&#8217;s pretty hard to continue to play baseball that hits.&#8221;</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Why the Dodgers' rapid success?"></div>
<h2>I didn&#8217;t expect them to be as united as they are.&#8221;</h2>
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<p>In fact, in last year&#8217;s District Series, the Dodgers were trounced by the Diamondbacks, who had dominated in the regular season.</p>
<p>So why do the Dodgers continue their rapid ascent? A reporter covering the Dodgers in the area had this to say.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> The Dodgers&#8217; success is largely due to Ohtani&#8217;s leadership of the team. The team&#8217;s best hitter is loudly inspiring his teammates on the bench. Furthermore, while the Yankees&#8217; Aaron Judge (32), the best hitter in the A-League, is suffering from a slump, Ohtani is consistently hitting long balls.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> And even when he does strike out, he makes the opposing pitcher throw more pitches to tire him out and support the following batters. I feel his strong will to achieve his goal of winning the World Series, which has been his goal since high school. The injury he sustained in Game 2 was also a product of his persistence to win. There is no doubt that the team is encouraged by the star&#8217;s all-out play.</span></p>
<p>Ohtani&#8217;s outstanding leadership in critical situations is reminiscent of the WBC last March.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I didn&#8217;t expect the Dodgers team to be so united. I am very proud of Otani,&#8221; said Tomonari.</span></p>
<p>On the world stage, Ohtani continues to grow.</p>
<figure id="attachment_397235" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-397235"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e86ee467"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/9dd2c36688fe329149282477758b9f16.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-397235" class="wp-caption-text">Ohtani, with his cool expression, has also shown scenes of emotional outbursts in the postseason</figcaption></figure>
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<p>A permanent compilation of Shohei Ohtani&#8217;s activities this season<br>
<a href="https://amzn.asia/d/8fjdMXF"><span class="strongInContent"> Shohei Ohtani: Ao no Jidai ~Towards the Top of the Batteries~&#8221; is now on sale!</span></a> is now on sale!</p>
<p><a href="#" data-ident_hash="06f14135"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/9d33f2fee7b26235c0d39cea7e2fa64a.jpg" alt=""></a></p>
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<p>From the November 15, 2024 issue of FRIDAY</p>
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 AFLO

 Defying most predictions that the Phillies would win the National League championship, the Dodgers won the championship series in succession, advanced to the World Series, and won their first three games in a row. The Dodgers' rapid progress was made possible by Ohtani's "outstanding leadership." ......

Shohei Ohtani’s ‘Willpower’ Sparks Dodgers’ Unstoppable Unity and World Series Triumph

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