On Friday, we got a double-barreled dose of the American exceptionalism that MLB promotes wholeheartedly.
A day before the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres opened Game 1 of their NLDS, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were asked about their feelings ahead of their “first” postseason games.
Ohtani, who came to MLB as a sixth-year pro and a former MVP, was a veteran of 13 major league postseason games between the ages of 19 and 21. In those, he went 2-2 with one save in five games as a pitcher with 29 strikeouts and a 4.38 ERA. During those years, as a part-time DH, Ohtani slashed .262/.311/.381 with one RBI.
Asked if he felt pressure ahead of his first postseason game, Ohtani said, “Nope.”
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