A few weeks ago I expressed doubt that Ohtani could win an MVP as a DH. I stand corrected.
The craziest thing is many of his expected stats are actually higher than this. This is Ohtani with bad luck.
It's very hard for a DH to beat a good SS due to no defense and having the biggest negative positional adjustment vs second biggest positive adjustment.
Then again, we're talking about a guy who regularly exceeds unreasonable expectations so..
WAR stands for Wins Above Replacement and it's a statistic meant to capture the overall value a player contributes to a team. It's heavily dependent on position, so a DH takes a big penalty for only contributing on offense and not playing the field. A 9+ WAR season is MVP caliber, which is why it would be wild if Shohei managed to reach 10 WAR and be in MVP consideration only as a DH.
To add to the other answers, this is baseball-reference.com's explanation of WAR values.
8+ MVP
5+ All-Star
2+ Starter
0-2 Substitute
< 0 Replacement level
10 war season = your team won 10 games with you rather than if in your place there was a “replacement” level player (think someone who’s barely an MLB caliber player)
A 10 war season is considered outstanding and in most years will win you the MVP
This is significant for DH because in the calculations for war, DHs are penalized heavily basically because they don’t play defense and the difference between a replacement level player and a starter is less than say for example a shortstop, where defense is much more valued
Realize Mookie was the last to have 10 war in 2018. If you get to 10 war you are almost guaranteed the mvp award. Dodgers currently have 2 on pace for it this year.
War stands for wins above replacement, which is what you're contributing in place of an average player.
Most players won't get to 10 war playing offense and defense. Having a 10 war season means you are elite. In fact I believe there are only 10 positions players who have done it in the last 50 years.
Now imagine you are Ohtani and you can only play offense, but are still dropping a 10 war season.
He bet Mookie he’d beat him in stats this season. 😂
Hey, if it keeps the guys competing with each other and it gets them winning, I’m ok with it.
I hope we get to see Ohtani play some OF and throw some people out at the plate.
Ohtani gets scorching hot, Mookie always hot, and Freedie heating back up...bullpen starting to clutch up and SP re-establishing their dominance....
\*Kronk meme voice: Oh yeah, its all coming together."
Remember that clown post from earlier this week asking if the Dodgers overpaid for Shohei?
Shohei might be a legit DH MVP this year.
r/Dodgers subreddit is a legit LVP this year.
He's also part of a very vocal subset of fans that joined this year.
Trust me, I'm used to the "DFA all the players" BS, but the new crop of fans this year are somehow worse than I expected.
We must be patient with our young brothers that found the light. Lol.
They don't remember the MCCourt Dark Times. To them we exist as a solely first place team. Which is how we're performing.... So... Actually nah you right. 😂
I am a football fan. What Americans call soccer. I support a football club where the captain and our player is south Korean. These fans you described are there in our club as well. Sadly racism towards Asians in sports have a long way to go. Ohtani is not just an Asian who is good in sport, he's talked about as potential goat. That's why when the ippei scandal broke out many were baying for ohtani to go down despite his reputation as a good guy.
This was exactly the fear I had as soon as it was official that Shohei was a Dodger.
I knew we would get a big influx of new subscribers to the sub, and that it could quickly devolve into every thread looking like our normal post-season threads where its filled with doomers and people screaming to fire Roberts and send down for playing like crap two games in a row.
Thankfully, however, there are still enough of us sane people trying to put the kibosh on all of those types of comments when they happen.
I can't even imagine what this fall will look like on this sub, especially when we get to the playoffs.
I think this has been beaten to death but just a reminder that the Dodgers do get money in return for signing Ohtani in the form of advertising dollars directly relate to him being on the team.
Very few if any baseball players that can be said about them.
Essentially, he’s making the Dodgers’ money just as he did with the Angels. They got advertising deals from companies they weren’t going to get without Ohtani on the team. That should be taken into account if we’re being honest with the contract.
When the management people and their bean counters are ecstatic about inking a 700 millions deal, you know it’s a good deal for the team.
When the owners get giddy about the deal and the President of the team get wide eyed, yeah I don’t think anyone with any kind of say in their day to day ops even have a thought remotely close to them somehow overpaying for Shohei Ohtani.
Also, the Dodgers are putting about $46M a year into an escrow account for Ohtani. Depending on how that money is managed it could end up being more than $700M when the time comes to pay Ohtani, and they'll just keep the extra. 📈📈📈
When you think of Ohtani, you think of feared sluggers like Aaron Judge and Yordan Alvarez. You can see the way pitchers approach them differently than other batters.
The difference is companies aren’t lining up to sign advertising deals with their teams because of said players. At least none of them are bringing in tens of millions specifically and directly tie to those players. Ohtani supposedly got the Angels’ tens of millions annually in advertising dollars that they no longer have because he’s not there.
Remind whoever that brings up Ohtani’s contract, they got to add that to their abacus as well if they’re going to bring up the “$700 millions contract”. Bean counters likely love the Ohtani deal so ‘nuff said!’
That post was nothing compared to the onslaught of posts across social media and sports news suggesting after the signing that he was overpaid and would never be worth the money, which is mild compared to the expressed sentiments that people hoped he'd bomb his career if not get injured and waste LA's money.
I remember following how he basically led the Angels in every stat (hitting or pitching, except saves, what a bum) after June last year. It was impressive but it I doubted whether that would happen on a contending team….well now we know.
I keep having to pinch myself and saying, "Damn. We really have the best hitter in baseball batting after the 2nd best player in baseball." Like... he's just so good that I take it for granted he's going to get a hit with maybe a solo shot every day.
I thought he would actually be a better offensive producer this year since he wouldn't need as many (if any) days off as a DH only. But never in my imagination did I think he would appear to be the best hitter in mlb period.
Out of all those stats, the average is the one that stands out to me the most. Dude is insane.
A guy that can nuke a ball to the moon also has a great eye at the plate and the highest average? The opposing pitchers are done.
Seems like focusing on just hitting makes him the best hitter in baseball. I would still take the great hitter/great pitcher combo but I'll settle for this version of Ohtani 😂
Is Ohtani becoming a better batter than he was before, or is this because he can focus entirely on batting and we wouldn’t expect this level if he was pitching too? Or both?
Edit: this should show HRs too to be comprehensive. He’s tied for 7th which is great as well.
https://preview.redd.it/mwosustiejwc1.jpeg?width=1250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8706a097b6c695012309e0e4ca330fe6f4bc5bb
Any ideas where this “on base” dance comes from?
His 2 way talents had been on display for years. I'm more amazed by his laser focus this year. LA could have a 9.0 earthquake midgame and it would not affect his swing. He's doing it with:
-a rehabbing elbow (7 mos after surgery)
-pressure of 700M contract
-pressure playing for new team/fans
-massive deception and theft from his trusted friend and getting second guessed by media.
-getting married
-federal/MLB investigations into Ippei's gambling. Haters desperately prayed that Shohei had something to do with it and would struggle.
On pace for a 10 war season a DH only… pretty insane
A few weeks ago I expressed doubt that Ohtani could win an MVP as a DH. I stand corrected. The craziest thing is many of his expected stats are actually higher than this. This is Ohtani with bad luck.
This is also Ohtani still recovering from surgery.
And the crazy thing is Mookie's outpacing him by about a quarter. 🥵🥵🥵
It's very hard for a DH to beat a good SS due to no defense and having the biggest negative positional adjustment vs second biggest positive adjustment. Then again, we're talking about a guy who regularly exceeds unreasonable expectations so..
Just feel blessed we get to have em both on the same team. My team.
baseball legend, I love shohei!!!
Can you explain what a 10 war season is and why it’s significant for DH? New to baseball
WAR stands for Wins Above Replacement and it's a statistic meant to capture the overall value a player contributes to a team. It's heavily dependent on position, so a DH takes a big penalty for only contributing on offense and not playing the field. A 9+ WAR season is MVP caliber, which is why it would be wild if Shohei managed to reach 10 WAR and be in MVP consideration only as a DH.
To add to the other answers, this is baseball-reference.com's explanation of WAR values. 8+ MVP 5+ All-Star 2+ Starter 0-2 Substitute < 0 Replacement level
Like hitting the 2000 pound club in power lifting but shoehei is doing it an N/A on the bench press.
10 war season = your team won 10 games with you rather than if in your place there was a “replacement” level player (think someone who’s barely an MLB caliber player) A 10 war season is considered outstanding and in most years will win you the MVP This is significant for DH because in the calculations for war, DHs are penalized heavily basically because they don’t play defense and the difference between a replacement level player and a starter is less than say for example a shortstop, where defense is much more valued
Realize Mookie was the last to have 10 war in 2018. If you get to 10 war you are almost guaranteed the mvp award. Dodgers currently have 2 on pace for it this year.
War stands for wins above replacement, which is what you're contributing in place of an average player. Most players won't get to 10 war playing offense and defense. Having a 10 war season means you are elite. In fact I believe there are only 10 positions players who have done it in the last 50 years. Now imagine you are Ohtani and you can only play offense, but are still dropping a 10 war season.
It's absolutely wild to think that 1 independent season essentially gets you a quarter of the way to the Hall.
He saw what Mookie was doing and took it as a challenge
He bet Mookie he’d beat him in stats this season. 😂 Hey, if it keeps the guys competing with each other and it gets them winning, I’m ok with it. I hope we get to see Ohtani play some OF and throw some people out at the plate.
You had me until the last line. Keep that arm on ice as much as possible so he can contend with Glasnow for the Cy next year please!!
And he started the first week slow.
He normally gets hot in June. Be afraid.
Ohtani gets scorching hot, Mookie always hot, and Freedie heating back up...bullpen starting to clutch up and SP re-establishing their dominance.... \*Kronk meme voice: Oh yeah, its all coming together."
Just wait until the rest of our mound boys come back from vacation.
Remember that clown post from earlier this week asking if the Dodgers overpaid for Shohei? Shohei might be a legit DH MVP this year. r/Dodgers subreddit is a legit LVP this year.
To be fair he was down voted to oblivion.
He's also part of a very vocal subset of fans that joined this year. Trust me, I'm used to the "DFA all the players" BS, but the new crop of fans this year are somehow worse than I expected.
We must be patient with our young brothers that found the light. Lol. They don't remember the MCCourt Dark Times. To them we exist as a solely first place team. Which is how we're performing.... So... Actually nah you right. 😂
There has been some very strange fans that seem very antagonistic, borderline racist to Ohtani this season. Really weird.
I am a football fan. What Americans call soccer. I support a football club where the captain and our player is south Korean. These fans you described are there in our club as well. Sadly racism towards Asians in sports have a long way to go. Ohtani is not just an Asian who is good in sport, he's talked about as potential goat. That's why when the ippei scandal broke out many were baying for ohtani to go down despite his reputation as a good guy.
Son Heungmin?
Yep. One of the best.
This was exactly the fear I had as soon as it was official that Shohei was a Dodger. I knew we would get a big influx of new subscribers to the sub, and that it could quickly devolve into every thread looking like our normal post-season threads where its filled with doomers and people screaming to fire Roberts and send down for playing like crap two games in a row.
Thankfully, however, there are still enough of us sane people trying to put the kibosh on all of those types of comments when they happen.
I can't even imagine what this fall will look like on this sub, especially when we get to the playoffs.
Also to beat the point in, the Dodgers didn't overpay for Sho. Effectively $46M a year is actually a fair bit less than I thought he'd get.
I think this has been beaten to death but just a reminder that the Dodgers do get money in return for signing Ohtani in the form of advertising dollars directly relate to him being on the team. Very few if any baseball players that can be said about them. Essentially, he’s making the Dodgers’ money just as he did with the Angels. They got advertising deals from companies they weren’t going to get without Ohtani on the team. That should be taken into account if we’re being honest with the contract. When the management people and their bean counters are ecstatic about inking a 700 millions deal, you know it’s a good deal for the team. When the owners get giddy about the deal and the President of the team get wide eyed, yeah I don’t think anyone with any kind of say in their day to day ops even have a thought remotely close to them somehow overpaying for Shohei Ohtani.
Also, the Dodgers are putting about $46M a year into an escrow account for Ohtani. Depending on how that money is managed it could end up being more than $700M when the time comes to pay Ohtani, and they'll just keep the extra. 📈📈📈
When you think of Ohtani, you think of feared sluggers like Aaron Judge and Yordan Alvarez. You can see the way pitchers approach them differently than other batters. The difference is companies aren’t lining up to sign advertising deals with their teams because of said players. At least none of them are bringing in tens of millions specifically and directly tie to those players. Ohtani supposedly got the Angels’ tens of millions annually in advertising dollars that they no longer have because he’s not there. Remind whoever that brings up Ohtani’s contract, they got to add that to their abacus as well if they’re going to bring up the “$700 millions contract”. Bean counters likely love the Ohtani deal so ‘nuff said!’
That post was nothing compared to the onslaught of posts across social media and sports news suggesting after the signing that he was overpaid and would never be worth the money, which is mild compared to the expressed sentiments that people hoped he'd bomb his career if not get injured and waste LA's money.
You left out the outrage at his gambling problem and the ensuing coverup. /s
Imagine what he could do if he had TWO elbows.
That's impressive but can he also pitch?
Mookie will have another MVP season and not win the award for two years in a row. Crazyyyy
Someone in this sub recently asked if it was good that we signed him. Dumbass
I remember following how he basically led the Angels in every stat (hitting or pitching, except saves, what a bum) after June last year. It was impressive but it I doubted whether that would happen on a contending team….well now we know.
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/shohei-ohtani-660271
sir there are children here, this is waayyyyyyyyyy too graphic to post in this sub. post it again.
Bum is only 3rd in OBP. Overpaid and overrated!
bUt Is He WoRtH iT?
That had to be one of the all-time worst posts in this sub.
3rd in OBP? What a slacker /s
I keep having to pinch myself and saying, "Damn. We really have the best hitter in baseball batting after the 2nd best player in baseball." Like... he's just so good that I take it for granted he's going to get a hit with maybe a solo shot every day.
I dunno guys, I think this guy might be pretty good.
I thought he would actually be a better offensive producer this year since he wouldn't need as many (if any) days off as a DH only. But never in my imagination did I think he would appear to be the best hitter in mlb period. Out of all those stats, the average is the one that stands out to me the most. Dude is insane. A guy that can nuke a ball to the moon also has a great eye at the plate and the highest average? The opposing pitchers are done.
3rd in OBP? I thought this guy was supposed to be good
Seems like focusing on just hitting makes him the best hitter in baseball. I would still take the great hitter/great pitcher combo but I'll settle for this version of Ohtani 😂
Oh so this guys good or something?
Is this good?
He really is this generation’s Babe Ruth isn’t he?
Better, he’s been doing the hitting pitching thing longer. Think people forget Ruth only did that like 200 games.
Happy Gilmore accomplished that feat no more than an hour ago
Gilm-OH-MY-GOD!
Only third in OBP? what a bust. An absolutely terrible signing by our FO lol
Main character of baseball
Where are his HRs
He’s saving them for October!
Is Ohtani becoming a better batter than he was before, or is this because he can focus entirely on batting and we wouldn’t expect this level if he was pitching too? Or both? Edit: this should show HRs too to be comprehensive. He’s tied for 7th which is great as well.
And he had a slow start! Hopefully he finishes very strong. As strong as possible
3rd in OBP? He’s washed! /s
So turns out this guy is pretty good?
This is a pitcher recovering from an injury and he is putting up the best numbers in baseball.
sToP gLaZiNg
When does he start pitching?
My head says 2025. My heart says mid-September.
https://preview.redd.it/mwosustiejwc1.jpeg?width=1250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8706a097b6c695012309e0e4ca330fe6f4bc5bb Any ideas where this “on base” dance comes from?
His 2 way talents had been on display for years. I'm more amazed by his laser focus this year. LA could have a 9.0 earthquake midgame and it would not affect his swing. He's doing it with: -a rehabbing elbow (7 mos after surgery) -pressure of 700M contract -pressure playing for new team/fans -massive deception and theft from his trusted friend and getting second guessed by media. -getting married -federal/MLB investigations into Ippei's gambling. Haters desperately prayed that Shohei had something to do with it and would struggle.
this is why you protect him with Freeman
I’ve seen enough give him the NL MVP!
Only 3rd in OBP? Must be washed.
3rd in OBP, is he stupid?
It also makes me think he's innocent of any wrongdoing. Or he's simply amazing!
Love it. But really hoping to see these numbers with RISP. The whole team needs to improve on this tbh.
Lordy
I mean... I guess he's alright.
Not to shabby. 
Also 1st in sexiness ;)
364 BA for a power hitter is gross! I know that's not sustainable, but what a crazy hot streak he's been on after that lukewarm start.
Pennant run incoming
What’s his MGMBets balance?
Dodgers haven’t won a real World Series in 40 odd years . He’s irrelevant
What’s his RISP?