Shohei Ohtani Taking Spotlight Off Deserving Dodgers Teammate, Says Dave Roberts

Sam Garcia | Jun 29, 2024

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Since he signed the most lucrative contract in sports history, Shohei Ohtani has remained a constant in the spotlight, rewriting records and accumulating accolades with his standout performances.

In just one season, he shattered Hideki Matsui’s record for most career home runs by a Japanese-born player and now set a new franchise record for consecutive games with at least one RBI. Hitting his 25th home run of the season, Ohtani extended his RBI streak to ten games in a row on Thursday. Ohtani was also nominated for two ESPY awards, Best MLB Player and Best Athlete, Men’s Sports.

But, Ohtani is far from the only Dodger doing big things this season.

“If Shohei wasn’t doing what he’s doing, Freddie would be in the conversation for Player of the Week the last few weeks. But Shohei is on another level right now”

- Dave Roberts, The Orange County Register

Across the month of June, Freddie Freeman posts a slash-line of .333/.426/.643 along with six home runs, 19 runs, and 17 RBIs. His 12.9% strikeout rate and 192 wRC+ are June career-highs. 

Freeman has also delivered in crucial moments this month.

On Wednesday, he smashed a two-run double to right field in the third inning, driving in two of the inning's three runs. The day prior, he blasted his twelfth homer of the season, tying the game against the White Sox in the top of the third inning. And, on the same day, he hit an RBI double to mark his 2,000th career hit.

On June 14, The seven-time MLB All-Star led the Dodgers to a 4-3 comeback victory against the Rangers with a two-out RBI in the eighth inning. The next day, he earned his 20th double of the season against the Kansas City Royals. Since then, he has racked up two more doubles, ranking him sixth across MLB in the statistics. 

Although Freeman has missed out on a few Player of the Week recognitions this month, he is a shoo-in for his eighth National League All-Star selection. He received the second-most votes for National League first-basemen this week, behind Phillies’ Bryce Harper.