Shohei Ohtani adds to his long list of heroists from Miami with the Home Run the hardest of the 2025 season in the victory of Dodgers
Miami – The singular pleasure of October Hardball has never honored this place, but at least the magic of Shohei Ohtani did it.
Since the opening in 2012, the Miami Loandepot Park has organized 1,014 regular season competition. And yet, in addition to the temporary residences of Sacramento and Tampa, it is the only active MLB stadium that has never welcomed a post-season match.
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And because the perpetually reconstruction of the marlins is, well, perpetually rebuilding, this futuristic colossus and southern Florida has often less than 10,000 souls under its retractable roof. It is, with the exception of the electrifying atmosphere of the World Baseball Classic, The Echoey, Home without tension from baseball with low challenges.
Except that when Ohtani comes to town.
On Monday, the DH Dodgers went deep in Miami for the fifth time in six career games here. His fifth round shot on a heating of Sand Alcantara was praised in the enclosure of Los Angeles lifts at 117.9 MPH, which makes it the most difficult ball in his season and the most difficult home run in MLB so far this year.
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This two-point laser gave the champions in title an advance of 5-1, an advance which they kept safe on the way to a 7-4 victory. It was their eighth victory in their last nine games, and Ohtani, once again, was at the center of the action.
“Very good memories, just with achievements last year and playing in WBC,” Ohtani told journalists after the match, via interpreter Will Ireton. “You know, we also had a very good game today. So, really, it’s one of my favorite stadiums.”
Yes, it is extremely weird that many of the most brilliant moments in the brightest star of the sport have taken place here, in a building that looks more like an abandoned Chernobyl aquatic center than a professional sporting place. A 15,395 report attended a Monday match, marking the biggest crowd during the week of the Marlins season so far. The atmosphere was far from that of Ohtani’s original park, because the second and third decks of Loandepot were almost completely vacant, a product of the annual status of Miami’s doormat.
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For the context, the Marlins (13-21) attracted 40,097 fans in total last weekend for a three game set against athletics. The Dodgers (24-11) had an announced attendance of 47,192 for their last home game (which was against Miami). This is another sign of the enormous canyon between these two organizations, which are at the opposite ends of the financial spectrum in baseball. The marlins currently have a payroll of around $ 69 million, while dodgers with major expenses are much higher at the $ 450 million mark between luxury contracts and payments.
None of this was going through Ohtani’s mind – that of the highly postponed contract of $ 700 million – on Monday. The magnificent exploits of the world superstar in this most worried framework have become an inevitable part of its legend. During WBC 2023, Ohtani delivered consecutive emblematic performances to transport Japan to its third title. In the semi-finals, he launched a double at the top of the ninth round to direct a magnificent return against Mexico, then, famous, he closed the final with a withdrawal from the teammate of the time, Mike Trout.
Last September, Ohtani may have made the biggest offensive game in the history of the MLB. The triple MVP participated in a competition on September 19 against the Marlins with 48 circuits and 49 interceptions, seeking to become the first 50/50 baseball player. Still the showman, Ohtani went 6 for 6 that day, with three circuits and two interceptions.
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And Monday, during his first match at “The Depot” since this history afternoon, Ohtani continued his reign of the domination of the Dade county. He now has an absurd shiny line .370 / .433 / 1,000 in Miami. The Home Run alongside Alcantara, like many Home Runs d’Ohtani, was impressive, inducing the oooooh. The sound was clear, turning the head and immediate, like a whip cracking the surface of a lake.
“I’m sure [his] Velo helped my bike out, “said Humbly Ohtani after the match through Ireton when she asked her how it was to connect with a bullet so squarely.” And you know, I was happy to have been able to do it again. “
Compared to his previous achievements in Miami, the two Ohtani points shooting against a team of modest marlins on a Monday in May transports a much less dramatic narrative or narrative pizazz. On that day, no recording was beaten where the trays reached or the trophies raised.
Just a generational talent doing his thing in a stadium that has become his personal baseball playground.
