""They're trying to win a game. That's what baseball is," Freeman continued. "One team's got to win and they're trying to do the best they can to win the game. And if that's to take Shohei out of the lineup, and not pitch to him, then that's what they got to do. But that means Shohei's on base, so that's also good for the Dodgers.""
""Yeah, I understand that, and obviously, for me on the bias side, I would probably say I wish we could outlaw that because it would benefit the Dodgers," he said. "But I think in totality, it's still a strategy and it's not applicable to every team that's not the Dodgers, right? So I think that it's just hard to make a rule and be so affected by the World Series and not pitching to Shohei."
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays played seven World Series games, including an 18-inning Game 3. Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked four times after the eighth inning after going 4-for-4 with two doubles and two home runs. Debates arose over regulating or banning the intentional walk as fans voiced frustration. Dodgers players and manager defended the tactic as legitimate strategy and part of winning. Freddie Freeman framed the choice as managers prioritizing victory, while Dave Roberts acknowledged bias but argued that the intentional walk remains a situational strategy not suited to blanket rules.
Read at Dodger Blue
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