This weekend very well may have marked the end of Shohei Ohtani’s career with the Angels. It’s hard to argue that it wasn’t fitting.
The team had been silent on his status for nearly two weeks. Ohtani had continued to appear in games as a hitter after being diagnosed with a UCL tear on Aug. 23, an injury that ended his season as a pitcher and carried a strong possibility of surgery, which could have serious ramifications for his upcoming free agency. But he was able to continue his transcendent campaign in the lineup—until he tweaked his right oblique while taking batting practice on Sept. 4. And then came an information vacuum.
The Angels did not place him on the injured list. Yet he did not appear in the lineup for a few days, then for one week, then another. On Friday night, reporters shared that his locker had been cleaned out, and nearly all of his personal items were gone. It had seemed likely for months (if not years) that this would be Ohtani’s last season with the Angels: His chances of re-signing in free agency feel slim after six years without so much as a trip to the playoffs. But it still felt stunning that it might end like this. An empty locker, no announcement or fanfare, a season finished before anyone realized it might really be over.
