Incredible angle of Shohei Ohtani’s bat flip after first playoff home run was worth the wait

After seven MLB seasons, Shohei Ohtani finally made his playoffs debut on Saturday in Game 1 of the Los Angeles Dodgers' NLDS matchup with the San Diego Padres.

It didn't get off to the best start. San Diego poured in three first-inning runs, including a two-run bomb from Manny Machado. That was followed by Shohei Ohtani flying out to left field in his first-ever postseason at-bat. Not exactly the explosive, magical debut folks expected.

No, the Dodgers fandom had to wait until the second inning for Ohtani to make his mark. And man, was it sick.

With two on and two out, Ohtani fouled a pitch hard off his left knee to make it a 2-1 count. Then, on the very next pitch, Ohtani sent a rocket over the right-field fence, a line drive straight into the bleachers at Dodger Stadium. What followed was perhaps the best bat flip we'll get all season.

Completely disrespectful. And that's exactly what we want. With a single flick of the lumber, Ohtani dug Los Angeles out of a hole and launched the Dodgers' crowd into a frenzy.

Let's circle back to the bat flip, though, because that is flawless execution. Sports is an aesthetic exercise at the end of the day — we're trying to win games and look cool in the process. Shoveling your bat 100 MPH at the dugout and letting out a primal yell after your long-awaited first postseason HR? That gets the job done.

Want more proof? Here's a neat alternate angle, courtesy of the ump cam.

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Shohei Ohtani smashes first MLB Postseason home run in coolest possible fashion

This was the most predictable home run of all time. The energy in the stadium was palpable and Ohtani has been on a legitimately historic heater pretty much all season. He is swinging the bat better than anybody in baseball right now. It doesn't matter who is on the mound, Ohtani strikes fear into the opposing defense with each hack.

That said, baseball is famously a team sport, and Ohtani will need support from his teammates eventually. The Padres quickly poured on two more runs in the next inning to regain the lead. Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed five earned runs in just three innings, and how well the Dodgers' beat-up pitching staff holds up this postseason will be the defining storyline of Los Angeles' run.

Ohtani will do his part, though. He loaded the bases with a two-strike single in his next plate appearance, so the bat remains alive. The Dodgers will need to ride their explosive offense all way through October. Every time Ohtani steps into the batter's box, there's a good chance something positive happens for LA.