{"id":809718,"date":"2024-12-02T02:12:03","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T08:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/02\/miracle-mets-are-still-trying-to-solve-their-shohei-ohtani-enigma\/"},"modified":"2024-12-02T02:12:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T08:12:03","slug":"miracle-mets-are-still-trying-to-solve-their-shohei-ohtani-enigma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/02\/miracle-mets-are-still-trying-to-solve-their-shohei-ohtani-enigma\/","title":{"rendered":"Miracle Mets are still trying to solve their Shohei Ohtani enigma"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Mets are showing heart, guts and resilience in abundance throughout their magical and fun October run.<\/p>\n

All that is wonderful. But it looks today like they are no match for one Shohei Ohtani \u2014 whose combination of skills is very possibly unmatched in baseball history \u2014 or frankly, the Ohtani Dodgers.<\/p>\n

Ohtani was alleged here and other places to be in a slump when this National League Championship Series started. But if he was ever truly struggling, that\u2019s quite clearly over now.<\/p>\n

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\"Shohei<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

Shohei Ohtani belts a solo homer in the first inning of the Mets\u2019 10-2 loss to the Dodgers in Game 3 of the ALCS on Oct. 17, 2024. Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Baseball\u2019s 50-50 man looks too good for the Mets, and everyone else. Truly, he\u2019s very likely better than anyone who\u2019s tried playing this game since Alexander Cartwright or Abner Doubleday or whomever started all this. Next year, he could do 50-50-20 (50 homers, 50 steals, 20 wins), and no one would be shocked.<\/p>\n

Ohtani\u2019s limited to hitting for now, and that\u2019s enough. He\u2019s hitting homers that look like a \u201cgolf ball\u201d (teammate Tommy Edman\u2019s assessment) to parts of Citi Field not often visited. Those momentary Emmanuel Clase\/Mariano Rivera comparisons, always silly, thankfully ended now. But the Ohtani\/Babe Ruth pairing remains apt.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost like a 14-year-old playing with 10-year-olds,\u201d J.D. Martinez said. \u201cThe ballpark just seems too small for him. He generates so much power, hits the ball so hard \u2014 it\u2019s a deadly combination.\u201d<\/p>\n

After putting a bow on the Dodgers\u2019 Game 3 win with a bomb over the right-field foul pole, he set a bad tone by opening Game 4 with a scorcher of home run \u2014 117.8 mph \u2014 under the Citi Field bridge in right-center field, leading to a 10-2 Dodgers victory<\/a> that put them in commanding position in this mega-market NLCS matchup.<\/p>\n

If the Mets find themselves in a rather unenviable position, at least it\u2019s a familiar one. This team, all heart, needs a comeback to end all comebacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Shohei<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

Shohei Ohtani scores on Mookie Bett\u2019s two-run double in the fourth inning of the Mets\u2019 Game 3 loss to the Dodgers. Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to do our best to add to the story and make some more magic,\u201d Brandon Nimmo said.<\/p>\n

No one should consider these Mets officially dead until the coroner confirms, of course. This is a team that has risen like few others. From the 0-5 to start the season and a 22-33 mark in late May, they rose. Time and again, they rose through this late September\/October run that has energized all the boroughs.<\/p>\n

These Mets are comeback specialists, and they need to engineer their biggest and best one yet against the best competition they have faced. It\u2019s an organization filled with superstars, from the players (Ohtani scored four runs and Mookie Betts had four hits and four RBIs Thursday night) to their part-owner (Magic Johnson) to their legendary pitcher\/fan (Sandy Koufax), the last two Hall of Famers among attendees over the past couple of days.<\/p>\n

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Follow The Post\u2019s coverage of the Mets\u2019 playoff run:<\/strong><\/h2>\n