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As so many of us expected from the start, Shohei Ohtani has signed with the Dodgers in free agency. Given the gargantuan contract -- and its complicated nature -- it's fair to say expectations on Ohtani in a Dodgers uniform will be as high as we've ever seen in sports. Plus, the Dodgers are likely to be aggressive the rest of the offseason in securing a championship-caliber pitching staff that will then assure them of entering the 2024 season as the odds-on favorite to win the World Series. 

You know what all that means? 

Pressure. 

Dodgers playoff pressure

The Dodgers are currently on one of the most remarkable runs of regular-season success ever seen in Major League Baseball, up there with the '90s-2000s Braves and some Yankees dynasties. They've been to the playoffs 11 straight seasons, having won the NL West title 10 of those years. They won 106 games the one season they failed to take the division crown in that run. They've won 100-plus games in five of the last six full seasons and they were on pace to easily get there in the shortened 2020 campaign. 

In those 11 playoff seasons, however, the Dodgers have one World Series title and that was the pandemic-ravaged 2020 season. In the 10 "normal" playoff seasons, the Dodgers have ended in failure every single time. They won two pennants, but lost the World Series both of those years. They've lost in the NLDS five times, including each of the last two, and the NLCS three times. 

Now, I'm not here to dismiss 2020. The Dodgers had to win more rounds than any other No. 1 seed ever has and they came back from a tough deficit in the NLCS before dominating most of the World Series against a strong Rays team. They earned that one. 

No one can dispute it was an incomplete regular season, obviously, and there are those who claim it wasn't a "real" title. That group includes, apparently, Dodgers 2020 World Series MVP Corey Seager. From a Fox Sports story in late June of last season, a Rangers teammate was quoted as saying, of Seager, "he wants to win a 'real' World Series." 

If Seager has had that thought, I have no doubt many other Dodgers players from that year feel the same way and a decent portion of the fan base might as well -- even if those thoughts remain internal.

Regardless of any discussion, we can simply look at the four seasons surrounding 2020 for the playoff pressure mounting on the Dodgers due to the colossal failures: 

  • 2019: The Dodgers won 106 games and lost to the 93-win Nationals in the NLDS
  • 2021: The Dodgers won 106 games and lost to the 89-win Braves in the NLCS
  • 2022: The Dodgers won 111 games, which is tied for the fourth-highest win total in MLB history. They went 1-3 against the 89-win Padres and lost the NLDS
  • 2023: They won 100 games and then were swept in three games by the 84-win Diamondbacks in the NLDS

That just can't keep happening, especially now after inking Ohtani. 

Pressure on Ohtani

I generally avoid such narratives, but there's always going to be a segment of the sports world (fans and media alike) pointing out a player's gigantic contract and saying that he's supposed to be the one to carry the team to championships. There's now a giant, virtual billboard flashing "$700 MILLION" above Ohtani's head.

In and of itself, that brings pressure. I have no doubt that a player like Ohtani puts additional pressure on himself to excel in those big moments. 

And we've never seen it before. He has never seen it before stateside. In 701 career MLB games as a hitter and 86 starts on the mound, Ohtani has 2,871 plate appearances and has faced 1,951 batters. That's all in the regular season. In the MLB postseason, those are all zeroes. He has performed very well in events like the 2016 Japan Series and the 2023 World Baseball Classic final, but he still hasn't seen the MLB postseason.

Keep in mind, too, that part of Ohtani's reported requirement with his new team was he was tired of missing the playoffs and wanted to play on a contender. It's hard to imagine the Dodgers missing the playoffs any time soon, either, so he'll get his wish. 

The best bet is Ohtani plays very well on the biggest stage. He's the most talented player in the world, so obviously that's the most likely scenario. It would be pretty surprising to see him fail. 

Still, funky stuff happens in small samples. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman had monster seasons in 2023, but in the playoffs they were a combined 1 for 21. Look at what happened with the Braves last year in the regular season vs. the playoffs. Mike Trout has only made the playoffs once and he went 1 for 12 while his team was swept. Ted Williams made the World Series once and he was 5 for 25 (.200) with no extra-base hits. 

See? It happens to even the best players at times. I don't think it's productive to accuse the great ones of "shrinking" in the moment or anything like that anymore than I attest it to the normal ebbs and flows of baseball in small samples, but, again, there's a sizable portion of the sports media and fandom that will absolutely say a star player shrunk when it mattered most. And none of those other players had a $700 million price tag screaming to the masses to judge him more harshly due to said contract (remember, there's also a jealously component attached here). Even if Ohtani starts with just one bad game, we're all bound to start hearing from the so-called talking heads about how he can't get it done when it matters.

If there are failures on the team level -- more early exits -- that only piles on extra pressure in ensuing seasons. 

You wanted it, you got it, Shohei. Here come the playoffs and all the pressure that comes with it.

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