I was looking for a fabulous finish to Shohei Ohtani’s stellar season with perhaps a World Series MVP, but instead he’s fizzled a bit. No home runs or stolen bases, just an injury scare. Instead, Freddie Freeman has stolen the limelight and has the Dodgers one game away from a sweep. His walk-off grand slam in Game One all but sealed the MVP award, plus he added two more homers, all on a bad leg. It was compared to Kirk Gibson’s feat in 1988, in dramatic fashion with two outs. Some reports indicated that both walk-offs occurred at 8:37 pm PDT, adding to the mystique. 

I bought a baseball card to celebrate the moment but was honestly hoping for more Ohtani cards to add to my collection of over 170. I would like to sell it, thinking that a Series MVP would add more value. He will undoubtedly receive the National League MVP and Aaron Judge will earn the American League prize. Judge, with another disappointing postseason performance, is just 1-12 in the first three games. Ohtani is 1-11 but has at least scored twice. Both hyped superstars have all but disappeared in their very first World Series appearances. 

Freeman is all but a MVP lock, but “it’s never over till it’s over,” Yogi Berra’s famous quote. He knows more about World Series play than anyone, but his Yankee Stadium ghost has yet to scare the Dodgers. There still could be four more games, and the stars could yet shine. The Yankees are certainly capable of winning four-straight, especially if Aaron Judge starts to deliver. We have to give the opposing pitchers credit for exploiting the weaknesses of these great players. With all the focus on them, it’s the other eight on each team that have made the difference. Bring on Game 4!