Dave Roberts admits Shohei Ohtani shouldn’t have been on the field to begin with

Shohei Ohtani completed his childhood dream of winning the World Series Wednesday night in the first year of a 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. While he was in the lineup for the intense 7-6 Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees, he was taking a huge risk by playing hurt for the three final games.

Ohtani sustained a shoulder subluxation during Game 2, but had enough strength and mobility to stay in the lineup for the duration of the world series. After the Game 5 clincher, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed gratitude for his superstar designated hitter's determination to help his team become champions.

"He committed to us and wanted to play for a championship," said Roberts. "What Shohei's done to our ball club, the Dodgers fanbase, domestically, globally, I just don't think you can quantify, and he's just such a good guy, you know he was playing with one arm on the post season."

Roberts surmised that "most guys [who sustained an injury as serious as Ohtani's] would probably tap out" but Ohtani was not going to be "denied" his spot in the lineup, and Roberts was happy with the result saying, "for him to hoist that World Series trophy, that's something that he dreamed of."

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A slightly-injured Shohei Ohtani is better than no Shohei Ohtani

Although Ohtani did not reach the same level of dominance in the World Series as he did in the regular season, the arguable best all-time MLB player's presence was still felt by the Dodgers after sustaining his injury.

He finished the postseason with a respectable .230 AVG .373 OBP and a .766 OPS en route to the championship, but these stats do not count for the intangibles. Having a guy as good as Shohei Ohtani in the lead off spots generates confidence throughout the lineup.

"If Shohei is in the lineup, it still is a presence," said Roberts. "I just think he earned even more respect from his teammates by being able to play with one arm."

At the end of the day, the Ohtani and Dodgers do not really care how they won the championship. Winning is the important part, but the impact of Shohei Ohtani's presence, even if he was hurt the final few games, cannot be denied.