Mike Shildt Keeping Padres Plan For Shohei Ohtani Close to the Vest

Jeremy Hanna | Oct 5, 2024

Sep 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) celebrates as he runs to first after he singled in the go ahead run in the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres are heading into the National League Divisional Series as underdogs to the league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

While Los Angeles has plenty of weapons, none are more dangerous than designated hitter Shohei Ohtani.

This season, Ohtani became the first Major League Baseball player in history to enter the 50-50 club, hitting 54 home runs and stealing 59 bases in the regular season.

Not only is Ohtani the first person to achieve this feat, he's the only person to make it to the 45-45 club. The only players to come close are Alex Rodriguez in 1998 (42-46), Alfonso Soriano in 2006 (46-41), and Ronald Acuña in 2023 (41-73).

Needless to say, the Padres need to find an answer for "Shotime." Fortunately, it seems like San Diego manager Mike Shildt has a plan, although he's not telling anyone.

According to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register on social media, Shildt was asked what was the Padres' plan for Ohtani. He simply laughed and said, "Not telling you."

Needless to say, plenty of people in the comments had suggestions on how to handle the two-time MVP. Strategies ranged from just walking him every time he comes to bat to simply praying that he doesn't perform well in his first career playoff series.

No matter what, there's no easy answer for a player of Ohtani's caliber. Hopefully, Shildt and the Padres find a solution that can help them pull out the victory.

This series is going to be a battle for the ages. The Dodgers currently have the best record in MLB, with 98 wins and 64 losses.

This is largely because of the plethora of high-quality players on Los Angeles' roster, including Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Teoscar Hernández.

Overall, the Dodgers boast the best slugging percentage (.446), OPS (.781), and most home runs (233) in th National League.

That being said, the Padres are no slouches. Not only do they have the second-best record in the NL (93-69), they have the best record after the All-Star game (45-20) and have a positive record against the Dodgers (8-5).

This is largely in part to the consistent play by numerous players on San Diego's roster, including Luis Arraez, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jurickson Progar, and rookie Jackson Merrill.

No matter what happens, there is no doubt that his series is going to be one for the ages.

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