No Triple Crown for Ohtani, but still a season for the ages

DENVER -- Coming into the last game of the regular season, Shohei Ohtani had already secured the best offensive season in Dodgers history and one of the most dominant the sport has ever seen.

One thing that could have taken Ohtani’s historic season to another level was securing MLB’s first Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera accomplished it in 2012. Ohtani came into Sunday’s finale only four percentage points behind the Padres’ Luis Arraez in batting average.

Ohtani’s bid, however, came up just short after a 1-for-4 day at the plate in the Dodgers’ 2-1 win over the Rockies at Coors Field. Ohtani finished with a .310 batting average, while Arraez appeared to lock up the batting title at .314, pending Marcell Ozuna’s performance in Monday’s doubleheader against the Mets.

“First and foremost, I think the most important part of all this is that I was able to play consistently throughout the whole year,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “I’m very thankful and grateful for all the staff who supported me throughout this year.”

Though the Dodgers were going to give him every chance on Sunday, it was always going to be unlikely for Ohtani to secure the Triple Crown. It became even more unlikely once Ohtani grounded out to open the game. Ohtani then grounded out to the shortstop in his second at-bat, all but ending his attempt to steal the batting title.

Still, Ohtani made it interesting all the way to the end of the regular season thanks to one of the most dominant stretches of his career. With his eighth-inning single, Ohtani extended his current hitting streak to 12 games. During that span, Ohtani went 29-for-53 (.547) with seven homers, 22 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Ohtani struck out just nine times during that stretch.

“You’ve seen a superstar,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I think the thing that I marvel at is the expectations that are put on him, that he puts on himself, and to still go out there every day and put on a show. I can’t imagine the pressure with all those expectations. But his preparedness, his work, is very, very focused.”

After signing a historic 10-year, $700 million deal this winter, Ohtani came into this season with lofty expectations. In the end, Ohtani responded with career highs in homers (54), RBIs (130), stolen bases (59), total bases (411) and hits (197).

"I haven't really changed my approach,” Ohtani said. “Not necessarily trying to get base hits, but it's always about improving my quality of at-bats. I thought that I was able to increase and better my quality of at-bats later."

Ohtani’s season will almost undoubtedly earn him his third unanimous Most Valuable Player Award and his first in the National League. But first, Ohtani hopes to continue his monster season in his first postseason as he helps L.A. pursue the World Series title.

“So now with the regular season over, the accumulated stats don’t matter anymore,” Ohtani said. “I’m going to be focused on maintaining where I am and making sure that I’m focused throughout.”