Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-5 in a tough NLDS Game 3, the only game the Los Angeles Dodgers dropped this October. Up to that point, Ohtani was 1-for-14 and struck out seven times in that series against the Phillies, and eventually ended that series with no more hits in four more at-bats. Was the pressure too much? Opposing manager Rob Thompson knew better. “I really don’t want to comment on that,” Thompson warned. “He can explode at any time.” His own manager, Dave Roberts, agreed, but he also said he would “bet on him all day long.”

Thompson’s words proved prophetic. But it required 3 more games after that series for ‘Sho’ to finally explode. Ohtani started Game 4 of the NLCS against the Brewers. On the mound, he pitched six-plus scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while punching out ten Brewers. It was great, but we have already seen that Ohtani against Thompson’s Phillies, where he earned his first postseason win in his career. What we didn’t see since his multi-homer Game against the Reds in the Dodgers’ first playoff games this season was that Ohtani was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate. And all of them were moonshots with two homers with 116 mph or higher exit velocity.

And with that, Ohtani was 5-for-14 with three home runs, a triple, and four walks with a slash line of  .357/.500/1.143 with four runs across the NLCS against the Brewers and earned the National League Championship Series MVP.

After that performance that earned Ohtani the NLCS MVP award almost single-handedly, fans immediately crowned Ohtani the “Greatest of All Time.” But former Red Sox infielder Jeff Frye, known as “Fryedaddy,” urged caution. “Shohei Ohtani just had maybe the most incredible game in @MLB history and he deserves all the recognition he’s getting today!, “Frye wrote, acknowledging Ohtani’s historic night. But Frye then drew a line in the sand.

“Let’s just not anoint him the greatest baseball player in MLB history quite yet,” he continued. “He’s only hitting (.220) this Postseason and he was hitting (.158) before yesterday’s performance.  Is he arguably the greatest talent we have ever seen? Yes! But 1 incredible game doesn’t immediately make you the best ever.”

Ohtani’s Game 4 was a volcano erupting after a long winter. Before that night, ‘Sho’ hadn’t hit a home run since the playoff opener and was in the middle of an eight-game homer drought. And he had collected just six hits in his last 38 postseason at-bats with 17 strikeouts. 

And even Ohtani credited his teammates for carrying the load during that time. “There were times during the postseason where Teo (Teoscar Hernández) and Mookie (Betts) picked me up, and this time around, it was my turn to be able to perform,” he said through his interpreter after the game.  “And I think just looking back over the course of the entire postseason, I haven’t performed to the expectation, but I think today we saw what the left-handed hitters could do.”

But not everyone was ready to tap the brakes on the “greatest ever” talk

For Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, the debate was already over.  “That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time,” Robert said. “There’s been a lot of postseason games. And there’s a reason why he’s the greatest player on the planet. What he did on the mound, what he did at the bat, he created a lot of memories for a lot of people.”

The record books certainly backed Roberts’ praise. Now, Ohtani is the first and only player in MLB history to hit three homers and strike out 10 batters. That includes both the regular season and postseason. The three-time MVP hit the first-ever leadoff home run by a pitcher in playoff history and became just the third pitcher in 87 years to hit three homers while starting the game(according to the Elias Sports Bureau). The other two were Jim Tobin of the Boston Braves and  Guy Hecker of Louisville. Plus, he was the first player who smash three dingers in a postseason game since another Dodger, Chris Taylor, did it in 2021.  Shohei’s current teammate, Kiké Hernández, also did it for Los Angeles in the 2017 NLCS.

And now, after sweeping the team with the best records in baseball, the defending champions advanced to the World Series once again. They will get a full week of rest before the World Series begins next Friday and wait for the winner of the ALCS between the Blue Jays and the Mariners. But the Dodgers will surely spend their next few days under the brilliance of what they just witnessed while clinching the ticket to the Fall Classic.