MLB Playoffs 2024: After 6 years without a postseason appearance, it's finally sho' time for Shohei Ohtani

For six years, Shohei Ohtani sat out and watched the Major League Baseball postseason. Much, if not all, of this was due to the ineptitude of the Los Angeles Angels as an organization. In recent years, when Ohtani was clearly the best player in the game, he was nowhere to be found during baseball's most-watched time of the year.

But for the first time in Ohtani's career, the two-time league MVP will play in the postseason when the Dodgers take on the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, starting Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. This is huge – and not just for him.

Every sport should have its best players competing against each other in the playoffs. The NBA playoffs without LeBron James, the NFL playoffs without Patrick Mahomes, or the NHL playoffs without Connor McDavid would feel incomplete. Unfortunately, baseball hasn't been able to see its biggest superstar on its biggest stage.

To understand the significance of Ohtani's presence in the postseason, one must look back to a time before he was the best in the game. For years before Ohtani's rise, his old teammate Mike Trout held that crown. And as Ohtani would soon find out, despite having some of the best offensive seasons in recent memory, Trout only reached the postseason once at the peak of his powers. Even after he and Ohtani teamed up in Anaheim, they never finished above third in the AL West despite being one of the most talented duos the sport has ever seen.

But when Ohtani signed with the Dodgers last offseason, his reaching the postseason was something of a foregone conclusion. Now the dream of seeing the game's best player in high-pressure, high-leverage situations has become a reality, and that's exactly what every baseball fan wants to see.

The 2024 regular season was an incredible postseason preview for Ohtani, who exceeded even the highest expectations in his first year in Dodger blue. He had the best offensive season of his career, nearly won the Triple Crown and became a charter member of the 50/50 Club. He is the driving force of a talented LA team and took over the team's leadership when Mookie Betts broke his hand earlier this season.

There are a handful of players capable of rising to the big moments, and Ohtani has shown time and time again that he is one of those players. And there's no better place than the MLB postseason to put that on full display.

When Ohtani pitched for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic last year, we saw it. When he had just one home run at 50-50, he delivered almost as if he knew the eyes of the world were on him and added an extra home run for good measure. Even the fact that he could potentially return to pitching from a UCL injury in the postseason is puzzling, although that may not be the case, the fact that there is a non-zero chance just makes it more so more fascinating.

In Ohtani's first taste of the postseason, it would be a huge exaggeration to assume his legacy is tarnished or at stake without the Dodgers making a major breakthrough. But if he performs well, it would add to his already long resume and the aura of who he has become as a player.

Historically, players who perform well or not in the postseason are viewed in a different light, regardless of their other successes. Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Chipper Jones and Albert Pujols would all have been inducted into the Hall of Fame without ever seeing the postseason, but the fact that they were great in October only strengthens their legends.

Conversely, Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher of his generation, but for much of his long and storied career, his lack of playoff success has been part of his story.

At the moment, Ohtani has a clean slate. The chapter on his postseason legacy is unwritten. This month offers him his first chance on the path to becoming one of baseball's immortals.

Now the world is waiting.