Shohei Ohtani’s $700 Million Deal Leaves Angels With Only Regret Amidst Repeated Playoff Shortcomings

Oh! for a moment there, the LA Angels had the world in their hands. With Shohei Ohtani in one hand and Mike Trout in the other, two of the greatest players of both their generation and of all time played simultaneously in the Halos. One might expect this team to advance to at least one World Series, right? Surprisingly, they haven’t even made the playoffs. Now Ohtani’s gone, leaving the Halos fathoming in their scenario of ‘what if?’

For three years from 2021 to 2023, Shohei Ohtani performed at a level rarely seen by the baseball world. The two-way superstar dominated not just with the bat but the ball as well, preforming beyond one’s imaginations. But even after his immense individual success, his team faltered hard. They have no one to blame but themselves.

Shohei Ohtani stays in LA but the Angels no longer surround him

After more than a month of speculations, Shohei Ohtani finally joined the LA Dodgers for a whopping $700 million contract. After spending 6 years with the Halos, he now belongs to their rivals the Dodgers. Predictably, it failed to surprise the fans. There was no sadness about Ohtani leaving his previous home instead there was a sense of relief. Nevertheless, while Ohtani clinched every success possible with them, another narrative was unfolding for the Halos.

In his 6 years with the team, Shohei Ohtani won two unanimous MVP awards. He would’ve won one in 2022, if not for Aaron Judge’s record-breaking season. Earlier, he used to be compared with the great Babe Ruth, but fans wondered if even the Bambino ever dominated both hitting and pitching the way this Japanese two-way phenom is doing. But Ohtani couldn’t change the fate of his team. As The Athletic’s Sam Blum said, in these three years, “He crushed 124 homers over the past three seasons and struck out 542 batters.”

While the Halos were meandering on, they consistently fell short of securing a winning record, consistently standing below .500. It was beyond confusing how the Angels were managing to underperform at the same time as Ohtani was writing history. The Angels would wonder the same. They had all the tools, but things never worked out. Currently, the Angels are tied with one of the longest active postseason droughts at 9 years.

Read more: MLB Insider Linked to Shohei Ohtani Conspiracy, Resulting in Inflated $700 Million Contract

Now all they have are what-ifs, especially as this is the end of an era for their team. Ohtani is gone and Trout is no longer the force he once was due to injuries. Now the question is, will they find a way to come back stronger? It certainly doesn’t seem to be the case today. The Halos will have to sit and think hard about what just happened.

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