MIAMI—Back and forth he trotted from dugout to bullpen, sometimes carrying a glove, sometimes a water bottle, looking as if he should have been eating an orange slice with his Little League teammates, but just before the biggest moment of his life, Shohei Ohtani slowed to a stroll. His pants were dirty from trying to break up a double play after he legged out an infield single in the seventh inning. His hair was matted from his batting helmet. His right arm was loose from his warmup, fragmented by his at bats.
He is unlike the rest of us in nearly every way but this one: He too was hoping the World Baseball Classic title would come down to the two best players in the world, facing off for the first time.
Ninth inning, Japan leading the U.S., 3–2. If he got Jeff McNeil and Mookie Betts, Ohtani realized, the final out could come in the form of Mike Trout, his Angels teammate and the consensus best player in the sport before Ohtani came along.
