The “Shohei Ohtani effect” isn’t strictly an MLB conversation anymore — it has reached the gridiron as well. Ohtani’s two-way brilliance stole the show in Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS. The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers to win a spot in the World Series. At the same time, the superstar was dominating on the mound and at the plate, which crushed the dream of Brewers fans, including former NFL star J.J. Watt.

Ohtani delivered three sky-roaring home runs while striking out 10 batters across six scoreless innings. A performance so dominant that he became the first pitcher to have 3Ks and 1 homer in a single inning. Watt, who is a lifelong Brewers fan and once declared that seeing the Brew Crew win the World Series “would be the dream.”

So, when the Japanese phenomenon ended their postseason race, all J.J. Watt could do was appreciate his performance. Watt had previously attended a Brewers-Angels game to watch Ohtani pitch and even took photos with him afterwards. But this performance was on another level entirely—one that left his favorite Brewers helpless. He posted on X, “Gotta be one of the greatest athletic performances in history. Never seen anything like Shohei.”

The ShoTime began in the first inning, when Shohei Ohtani walked the first hitter and then struck out three in a row, dominating the Milwaukee Brewers’ order. Then he came to the bat and blasted a single home run off Jose Quintana. It was a 446-foot blast, making him the first pitcher in MLB history, regular season or postseason, to hit a leadoff home run. In the fourth inning, he hit a cutter that went 469 feet out of Dodger Stadium and over the roof. Both his teammates and his opponents couldn’t believe it.

He hit his third home run off Trevor Megill in the seventh inning, completing a sweep for the Dodgers and earning NLCS MVP honors, even after a slow start in the first three games. The Dodgers eliminated the NL Central champion Brewers, reaching their 26th World Series. This marks Milwaukee’s third postseason loss to the Dodgers during their seven playoff appearances in eight years.

Well, Watt wasn’t the only one with appreciation for Derek Carr; another NFL player loved the Ohtani play. Derek Carr posted on X, “Not to overhype it… but this might be the greatest baseball game anyone’s ever played.”

The historic performance resonated beyond the diamond. Even Dodgers manager Dave Roberts couldn’t contain his emotions, using the moment to address critics and rally his championship-bound team.

Roberts turns criticism into a rallying cry

Roberts wasted no time making his position clear. Following the sweep, he stood before reporters and defended his superstar, turning outside noise into motivation for the World Series ahead.

Roberts first used such a tone when he talked to the press about Shohei Ohtani’s record-breaking performance. He said, “That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time. There’s been a lot of postseason games. And there’s a reason why he’s the greatest player on the planet.” His statements made it clear how big Shohei Ohtani’s two-way domination is and how he feels about him.

Then came the rallying cry. After the win, Roberts stood in front of the crowd at Dodger Stadium and declared, “Before this season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball. Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball!” He turned criticism into gasoline by making the idea of “ruining baseball” a sign of superiority instead of a complaint.

It’s a change in the story for both fans and critics. The Dodgers aren’t simply contenders anymore; under Roberts, they enjoy being the team that other teams don’t want to play. This group is determined to win as many games as possible, go after another title, and, as Roberts put it, “really ruin baseball.”