World Series: Yankees' Aaron Judge, Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani trying to find their best selves in Game 3
Aaron Judge (left) and Shohei Ohtani. Credit: Jim McIsaac; AP/Julio Cortez
The Dodgers-Yankees showdown has lived up to the hype in drawing an audience of 30 million, split between the U.S. and Japan, for each of the first two World Series games.
As for the marquee event, Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge? Not so much heading into Monday night’s Game 3 in the Bronx.
Ohtani and Judge, the presumptive MVPs of their leagues, were supposed to be the superstars driving the TV ratings for this World Series. It marked the first time ever that two 50-homer sluggers faced off in the Fall Classic, and given the fandom’s love affair with the long ball, MLB couldn’t have scripted a better must-see matchup.
On paper, it was an October dream. The reality had been something more mundane as the series switched coasts. Ohtani and Judge were draped in varying degrees of uncertainty before Game 3, for different reasons.
Ohtani’s was purely physical: a partially dislocated left shoulder. Judge’s seemingly was more of a mental glitch: a misfiring swing.
Considering that as many people in Japan are watching this World Series as the entire U.S. — a nation with one-third of America’s population — you can imagine the reaction overseas when Ohtani was ushered off the field Saturday at Dodger Stadium, a trainer cradling his left arm.
Ohtani jammed his left shoulder while trying to steal second base in the seventh inning. Oddly, he had been thrown out in his only two attempts of this postseason — by the Yankees and Mets — after being caught only four times in 63 chances during the regular season.
The fact that an offensive threat as valuable as Ohtani was even taking the risk this late in October is worthy of debate. Establishing himself as the first member of the 50-50 club was an impressive feat, but the Dodgers are eying a greater goal this month, and Ohtani is crucial to that mission.
In the hours leading up to Game 3, Ohtani’s status dominated the World Series discussion. He was back in the lineup, at his usual leadoff spot, but the Dodgers acknowledged that he will be playing hurt.
Ohtani went 1-for-8 in the first two games, and how the injury will impact him is anyone’s guess. The back shoulder/arm is less crucial from a swing perspective for a lefty-hitting slugger. But Ohtani, the sport’s first $700 million player, has an uncanny knack for accomplishing just about anything he puts his mind to, and he’s probably not going to be stopped entirely by some shoulder pain. Not with the world watching.
“He was very adamant that he was going to play,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, adding, “I think it’s certainly an edge to us having him in the batter’s box. Regardless of what limitations a pitcher might think he might or might not have, not many guys are willing to take that chance.
“I’m just expecting him to control the strike zone, let the at-bats come to him, and swing and fire when the ball’s in a hitting zone. We’re just very grateful that he’s in the lineup.”
As for Judge, his issues aren’t as easily treated by some orthopedic tape and anti-inflammatory medication. He seemed to be struggling more upstairs through the first two games, going 1-for-9 with six strikeouts (including 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position) and looking lost at the plate.
Not getting results is one thing. But seeing Judge routinely flail away at pitches outside the strike zone — or just missing hittable ones — was very unlike the guy who led the majors in almost every offensive category during the regular season.
So why now? Great question. For six months, Judge’s only competition is himself. He shares a baseball constellation with the game’s most elite: Ohtani, Juan Soto, with a handful of others a few rungs below. But for the Yankees, October carries next-level expectations, and with that, increased pressure. He’s not just battling the Dodgers. Judge is competing to join Bronx legends such as Jeter, Mantle, DiMaggio, Ruth and Gehrig.
That’s heady stuff. And Judge is human, after all. As much as he’s able to tune out the noise during the regular season, it gets increasingly difficult with each postseason round.
Judge sees the Yankees’ other top guns raking around him — Soto was hitting .350 with four homers and a 1.160 OPS and ALCS MVP Giancarlo Stanton had six homers, 14 RBIs and a 1.098 OPS in the team’s first 11 postseason games — and has to feel as if he’s not doing his job. Through the first two games, you could practically see the urgency in his swing, which is startling for the even-keeled Judge.
“At times, I think it’s trying to make things happen instead of letting the game come to you,” Judge said. “That’s what it really comes down to.”
Judge being overly aggressive could be a natural reaction to the Yankees’ predicament en route to a 2-0 deficit in this series. In Game 1, Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning erased the Yankees’ one-run lead. In Game 2, the Yankees left the bases loaded when a ninth-inning rally fizzled — with Judge whiffing for the first out.
The Yankees had a brutal stay in L.A. But if anyone needed a chance of scenery, it’s Judge, a career .300 hitter with` a 1.048 OPS at the Stadium, and the Bronx was the perfect stage for his return to the spotlight. It was just a matter of who would be capable of seizing the starring role in Game 3: Judge or Ohtani?
A global audience tuned in again to find out.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.