With Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers' Big 3 of MVPs is a 'scary' proposition | Nightengale's Notebook

LOS ANGELES — They are the most terrifying trio in all of sports, a rainbow of pure talent, designed to make opposing pitchers quiver in fear. 

Opposing pitchers don’t even have a chance to exhale when they start the game, look up, and see Mookie Betts at the plate, Shohei Ohtani standing in the on-deck circle and Freddie Freeman on the first step of the dugout. 

The 2024 season has just began, and already the Los Angeles Dodgers are showing why they are the scariest team in baseball, with a 1-2-3 batting order that’s not only historic, but perhaps one of the greatest in baseball history. 

The Dodgers, by the end of this upcoming week, will be the first team to have three Most Valuable Players batting consecutively for more than 10 games by any team in baseball history. 

The only previous times it has happened even once in a season were by the 1983 Philadelphia Phillies (Joe Morgan, Pete Rose and Mike Schmidt), the 1978 Cincinnati Reds (Rose, Morgan and George Foster) and the 1976 Reds (Rose, Morgan and Johnny Bench). 

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“The first word that comes to mind," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says: "Daunting."

The second word, says Cardinals veteran starter Miles Mikolas, who watched the trio reach base seven times with two homers and a double before knocking him out of Thursday's game after 4 ⅓ innings, is well, unprintable. 

“Those are three of the best hitters in the league, going back-to-back-to-back," Mikolas says. “The swings they’re putting on balls are generally better than just singles. Those are doubles and home-runs. 

“It’s not your standard 1-2-3. Those guys are good. And disciplined. And hit with a whole lot of power."

It’s ridiculous the damage they’ve already done in just the first five games of the season, reaching base a staggering 36 times, with 23 hits, three doubles, five homers and 16 RBI. 

But, hey, who’s counting? 

“I think in any discussion," Roberts says, “you can argue that they’re the best hitter in baseball. I think when you talk about those three guys and you lump up another handful or 10 players in baseball, they’re in that conversation. 

“We’re fortunate to have three at the top of the order." 

Even beyond the top three, No. 6 hitter Teoscar Hernandez – another free-agent pickup – hit two home runs Friday in their 6-3 victory over the Cardinals. 

“You see this lineup, and what it can do," Hernandez says. “It’s scary." 

You don’t have to tell the Cardinals, who were first-hand witnesses the first weekend of the season. The Dodgers head into Sunday leading the major leagues with 34 runs, eight homers, 15 extra-base hits, 24 walks, while scoring at least five runs every game. 

“Thank God I’m not a pitcher," Dodgers center fielder James Outman says. “It’s got to be so intimidating." 

Even with Outman batting seventh in the order, he’s got his batting gloves on, and a bat in his hand. 

“I even noticed that in spring training,’’ Outman said. “I’m batting lower in the lineup, and the next thing I know, I’m getting up there with one out or something. You’re never that far from hitting. 

“It’s almost like almost anyone in this lineup could be a cleanup hitter on this team." 

Says Freeman: “It’s not just the top of the order. There’s nine guys in this lineup. I will deflect that for every single question from here on out." 

And then, of course, there is Betts. 

Betts, who was supposed to be transitioning from right field to second base this season, is now being asked to be an everyday shortstop for the first time since he was in high school. 

How much has that messed with his head? 

The dude is hitting .611 with a .720 on-base percentage, 1.389 slugging percentage and an insane 2.109 OPS. He leads the major leagues with four homers, one in each of the past four games, while also leading the majors with 10 RBI, 25 total bases, eight runs and 11  hits. 

The season just started and he already set a franchise record for six RBI from the leadoff spot in one game, and set another Dodger record with his 29^th leadoff homer, and 49^th overall. 

“It’s offense, it’s Rickey Henderson,’’ Roberts says. “It’s pretty remarkable. I marvel at him." 

There will be some growing pains at shortstop, but Betts was much more proud of the three defensive plays he made Saturday night than his heroics at the plate, and has the uncanny ability to completely separate his offense from defense.

“You would argue that it would have to take some toll on your mental capacity to perform offensively taking up a new position like shortstop," Roberts says, “but not for him. 

“He’s just unique in that sense."

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol has seen some of the most formidable lineups in the game, but with the top of the Dodgers order, well, there’s nothing like it. 

“They don’t chase," Marmol says, “and you have to figure out how to get them out of the zone. And to have the three of them going back-to-back-to back, it’s pretty real." 

Certainly, the three of them push each other, Dodgers veteran infielder Miguel Rojas says. There’s natural competition to try to out-do one another. Even when Betts and Freeman homered in the Dodgers’ home opener, it was Ohtani who lamented that he was the only one not to. 

“It’s not so much a competition,’’ Rojas says, “but especially when you you’ve got Mookie doing what he’s doing, they try to elevate their game so no one gets left behind.  

“This is the first time we’ve ever seen something like this." 

Really, in many ways, it reminds Dodgers president Stan Kasten of those great teams he had in Atlanta, with Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Joh Smoltz headlining the greatest pitching staff in the game. 

But there is one huge difference, Kasten says. 

“These guys feed off each other here," Kasten says. “Those guys [in Atlanta] loved competing with each other. You’ll never get more competitive guys than Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine – especially on the golf course. 

“When Shohei joked about not getting a home run, I’m not sure those guys [in Atlanta] would have joked because they wanted to out-do each other. They took pride being as good or better than the other guy. They all won Cy Youngs, and that made them feel great. 

“Our guys have the MVPs, and while they’re pushing each other, I just don’t sense they’re competing against each other, not like those guys." 

It’s not as if the Betts-Ohtani-Freeman trio can singlehandedly carry the Dodgers to the World Series. This isn’t the NBA. You need a whole lot more than simply having three of the greatest hitters in the game atop your lineup. 

Yet, they can certainly set the tone night after night, forcing Dodgers fans to beat the traffic, get to their seats early, and enjoy the show. 

“We have three superstars, who are not just MVPs on the field, but MVP as people," Kasten says. “It’s kind of fun to watch other pitchers having to plan and navigate through that part of our lineup. 

“You know something, it’s pretty special waking up and knowing you have a good chance to win a game." 

So, come early, sit back, grab yourself a cold one, and enjoy the show. 

“Easy for you to say," Mikolas says, smiling. “You’re not facing them." 

Old school opening weekend?

MLB, which reduced the number of pitchers teams can carry on their active roster to 13 two years ago, and hopes to lower it to 12 pitchers in the next two years, is encouraged by the early results of starters’ performances in the opening week. 

In the first 23 games: 

There were 20 starting pitchers who lasted at least six innings. 

Fifteen lasted at least five innings. 

Seven went four innings. Only four went under four innings. 

MLB is hoping that teams start developing starting pitchers once again to pitch deep into games, avoiding the openers’ epidemic and the merry-go-around of relievers that slow down the game. 

“Historically, starting pitchers have been some of the biggest stars in the game," commissioner Rob Manfred said at last year’s World Series, “and the way that pitching is being used right now has caused a diminution of the star quality for some of our starters. ... 

“I think there’s a lot of fans who feel like the change from, 'Let’s see what today’s pitching matchup is' to 'who’s the opener today,’ has not been positive."

There were only 25 pitchers who pitched at least 180 innings last season, a dramatic decline in the past 10 years when 66 pitchers accomplished the feat. Starting pitchers accounted for just 57.98% of innings this past season. 

Since the end of the 2019 season, 72 pitchers have thrown 180 or more innings in a season. 

In the 2011 alone, 73 pitchers threw at least 180 innings. 

While the competition committee must approve lowering the limit to 12 pitchers, certainly the rash of pitching injuries will be a factor. 

There were a record 132 pitchers who opened the season on the injured list this year compared to just 34 position players. 

Around the basepaths

– Just when you think the Dodgers can’t possibly sign any more stars, several GMs believe that Roki Sasaki, 22, one of the best pitchers in the world, already has plans to sign with the Dodgers after the season. 

“Every team in baseball wants this guy," one GM told USA TODAY Sports, “but there’s no way he’s going anywhere else but the Dodgers. We all know it." 

Sasaki became the youngest pitcher in Japanese history to throw a perfect game last season for the Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific League and has a career 1.90 ERA with 395 strikeouts in 303⅔ innings, has made it clear that he wants to pitch in Major League Baseball as soon as possible and could be posted after the season. 

Can you imagine a rotation of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Sasaki, Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller and Dustin May? 

– The Arizona Diamondbacks’ push to sign Jordan Montgomery may have accelerated after Eduardo Rodriguez’s strained lat muscle late in the spring, but the truth is that it was the Giants’ spring-training acquisitions of Blake Snell and Matt Chapman, and the Padres’ trade for Dylan Cease, that pushed the D-backs into action. 

The Diamondbacks spent the fourth-most money in free agency this offseason at $161.5 million, thanks in part to the extra revenue from their World Series run. 

They now have one of the three best starting rotations in baseball, ace Zac Gallen says. Competely agree. The rotation of Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Montgomery, Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt is scary.  

– Snell, who signed a two-year, $62 million contract with the Giants just before the end of camp, was actually hoping to sign with the Angels, but an offer never came through. 

His only two formal offers before signing with the Giants came from the New York Yankees in February when they offered a five-year deal for about $115 million, and the Houston Astros (two years, $42 million) in March. 

– No one had a better start to the season than the defending National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks. 

They outscored the Colorado Rockies, 21-4, the first two games. including a franchise-record 14 runs in one inning, with 10 singles and three doubles. It was the fourth-most runs in an inning since 1900. 

They are the first team since the 1905 New York Giants to produce 21 more hits than their opponent in the first two games of the season. 

Those Giants just happened to go 105-48-2 and win the World Series. 

– The Oakland A’s may be a lame duck, but it didn’t stop their hard-working public relations department from producing the largest media guide in baseball this year at 608 pages, according to Codify Baseball’s research. In contrast, only four teams had media guides over 500 pages, with two playoff teams producing media guides with less than 200 pages. 

There are almost more pages in the media guide than fans in the stands. 

The A’s announced an attendance of just 3,837 fans on Friday night after drawing 13,522 on opening night against the Cleveland Guardians at the Oakland Coliseum. 

It could be another long season in the East Bay after being outscored 26-7 in their first three games. 

– The silliest rumor circulating in Chicago is that the White Sox are pondering a move to Nashville. 

A future MLB team in Nashville will likely be an expansion team. 

– Crazy how commissioner Rob Manfred’s opening day comments that he hopes the Shohei Ohtani investigation is a short one drew so much attention. 

Please. 

Did anyone really anticipate him saying, “Oh, I really hope this investigation lasts for years like Pete Rose’s." 

– Dodgers catcher Will Smith will be 48 years old by the time the Dodgers stop paying him with $50 million deferred in his 10-year, $140 million contract.

– The best free agent still on the market is outfielder Tommy Pham, one of the most fierce players in the game, and who was instrumental in the D-backs World Series run. 

He’s working out in Miami with his bags packed ready for an opportunity. 

The best pitcher on the market is Mike Clevinger, who was the White Sox’s best pitcher last year with a 9-9 record and 3.77 ERA. 

Clevinger, 33, has told teams that he is seeking a one-year contract in the same salary range of Michael Lorenzen’s $4.5 million deal with the Texas Rangers that includes $2.5 million in incentives. 

– Look for the Orioles to host the 2027 or 2028 All-Star Game with Camden Yards refurbishments likely. 

– No one made a greater opening-day first impression than Cincinnati Reds DH Nick Martini, 33. Martini, playing for his fourth team in four years, hit two home runs after entering the game with just eight homers in his 112-game career. 

– Shane Bieber likely made his fifth and – maybe last – opening day start for Cleveland, but Chris Antonetti, Guardians president of baseball operations, told reporters: “I’m not ready to write that story yet. There are more chapters to that story.” 

– Hard to believe there’s not a single player from the Miami Marlins’ 2019 team on this year’s active roster. 

– The Houston Astros plan to talk to third baseman Alex Bregman about a contract extension before he hits free agency, but aren’t expected to come close to the $300 million over 10 years it likely will take to keep him from testing the market. 

– Kudos to the Dodgers for getting the second-base bag from their season opener and presenting it to St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Victor Scott II, who stole second base in his Major League debut. Certainly, he’ll have plenty more for his collection considering he stole 94 bases at Class A Peoria and Class AA Springfield last season. 

– Giants manager Bob Melvin, who told his team this spring that he wants all of them lined up on the field for the national anthem, is now reinstating a dress code for travel days. 

You don’t have to wear a suit, but you’re not wearing a sweatsuit, either. 

“We’re not bankers," Melvin told reporters, “we don’t have to wear suits. But when we come off the plane and check in to a nice hotel, sweatsuits I don’t think are something I’d like to see.” 

– Before opening day, Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas compared his team to the Dodgers this offseason: “We’re not exactly a low-payroll team. But you got the Dodgers playing checkbook baseball. We’re going to be the hardest-working group of Midwestern farmers we can be. 

“It would be great to stick it to the Dodgers.” 

He lasted 4 ⅓ innings in the Dodgers’ 7-1 victory. 

– So just why did Oakland A’s fans fall in love with Guardians rookie manager Stephen Vogt as a player? 

“I was the type of player that if people watched me play," Vogt told reporters, “they’d say, ‘If that guy can do it, I can do it.’ I interacted with fans, with people at the stadium. I like to describe myself as a regular guy with a cool job. That’s how I’ve always gone about it. It’s not an act. I just who I’ve always been.” 

– The Yankees certainly made a statement in their first series with the Houston Astros, but the Orioles are still the class of the division, and I’m still predicting they’ll win the World Series over Atlanta. 

– New Angels manager Ron Washington may have set a record for the earliest closed-door team meeting. 

The Angels were smoked in their first two games, losing by a combined score of 24-7, and Washington wants to make sure the season doesn’t spiral out of control. 

– Kudos to Yankees starter Marcus Stroman for donating $200,000 over the next five years, to high school seniors in low-income families with his partnership and scholarship fund with Bold.org. and his HDMH Foundation. 

– Former All-Star sluggers Mo Vaughn and Ryan Klesko have been hired as special assistants to the Perfect Game ownership team. 

– Red Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neill became the first player in baseball history to homer in five consecutive opening day games. Strangely, the three others who had homers in four consecutive openers were all catchers: Yogi Berra, Gary Carter and Todd Hundley. 

– This is the first season since 1977 that there’s not a single active player who has 500 homers, 3,000 hits or 300 wins on his resume, as pointed out by MLB Network’s Jayson Stark.  

The active leaders entering the year: 

• HRs: Giancarlo Stanton, 402. 
• Hits: Joey Votto, 2,135.  
• Wins: Justin Verlander, 257. 

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