"I hate the national fan discourse that tends to develop whenever a great player ends up on a bad team. You know what I'm talking about: "The commissioner should force them to trade him to a contender!" We heard it for years as Ohtani toiled on the Angels and it always rubbed me the wrong way. Fans of bad teams get have fun things, too."
"And moreover, baseball is more than just the playoffs. The amazing things that Shohei Ohtani did on the field and the memories he made for Angels fans during his six years in Orange County were real and they count for something, even if they only did occur of the course of the regular season. There are an infinite number of ways to consume and enjoy baseball in the months outside of October."
National fan discourse often demands that commissioners force trades when great players land on bad teams. The example of Shohei Ohtani on the Angels generated years of such commentary and frustrated some fans of those teams. Regular-season achievements and memories created for local fans have intrinsic value beyond playoff success. There are many ways to enjoy baseball during months outside October. Ohtani finally pitched in the postseason, settling in after a rough start, retiring ten batters in a row and striking out nine as the Dodgers rallied to win Game 1. Other postseason results included the Yankees' embarrassment, the Brewers' rout of the Cubs, and the Tigers' extra-inning win in Seattle.
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