Being a two-way player does increase the likelihood that you'll have a bad game one way or another. Or it increases the chances that either batting or pitching will go well. Shohei Ohtani could hardly have done worse at the plate in the first game of the Los Angeles Dodgers' playoff series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night: He struck out four times. Pitching was another story. Ohtani gave up three runs over six innings, collecting nine strikeouts in getting the 5-3 victory in the National League Division Series opener. Taken together, it was something to see, said his manager. "It's really never been done, certainly at this level," Dave Roberts said, per CNN, adding, "He's essentially two people in one game."
Because it's never been done, the Washington Post points out, it's hard to compare Ohtani's performance in his first career playoff game with anyone else's. "I just don't think the human brain can comprehend what he does and how difficult it is and how elite he is at both," said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations. Doing both jobs, especially in the pressure of the playoffs, seems a lot to ask. Ohtani has clarity on the dual roles. "The reason why I'm a two-way player is because that's who I am and it's what I can do," he said through an interpreter on Saturday night. "And also at the same time, it's what the team wants. So that's the reason why I've been doing this."
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