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Mookie Betts understands what Shohei Ohtani is dealing with in this National League Championship Series.
Betts knows what can happen to a once-dangerous swing when a hitter takes the field with physical limitations.
Two years ago, Betts was struck by a 98 mph fastball and fractured his left hand.
“It’s really, really hard,” Betts said. “It took me almost like two years before I was able to really kind of feel normal again and get those bad habits out.”
Before he was placed on the injured list in September, Ohtani said he was experiencing discomfort in his right arm and left knee. Asked on Tuesday what was bothering Ohtani, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “It’s everything.”
“When you’re hurt, you just want to play,” Betts said. “So you’ll make adjustments to the swing or to your body so you can play. Then you don’t want to hurt while you play, so you make the adjustments to where your body doesn’t feel it. Sometimes it’s to the detriment of who you are as a player, and you don’t really realize it.”
Betts imagined that navigating the situation would be more difficult for Ohtani because of his stature.
“I couldn’t imagine really kind of having the expectations that he has and falling short in a way that it’s not normal for him. Then having to come back and be present in this postseason knowing how important he is to the boys.”
Ohtani is hitting .150 in the postseason.
“He’s trying,” Betts said. “It’s just really, really hard. It’s really hard to make these slight adjustments in this short amount of time. Like I said, it took me almost two years. I feel for him. I know he’s grinding, he’s working. So we’ll just see. We’ll see how he comes and prepares.
“But I know he’s giving it his all. We know he’s giving it his all. We can at least lay our heads on a pillow at night knowing that we’ve given it everything.”