Stare Down Sports

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and superstar Shohei Ohtani have been trending in two different directions since the trade deadline.

In a recent loss to the Seattle Mariners, a grand slam walk off home run to beat the Angels 5-3, Ohtani was seen visibly holding back tears in the dugout.

I have no source on why, could of been something outside of baseball or anything at that matter. However I have an idea of what could have lead to this, strictly baseball related. Again I have no clue to the reality of his mind state.

Shohei Ohtani Trade Deadline

When the trade deadline came last week, Ohtani was rumored to be the most sought after player since, well, Juan Soto last season.

The Angels behind Ohtani’s play in July where he showcased that he is the best player ever on a baseball field, had a hot month. They even got as close to 3 or 4 games out of the division and playoff race.

Because of the idea that they could make a run for it, they decided not to trade Ohtani. Fast forward a week and Ohtani has continued to be the best player ever on a baseball field.

However the Angels have hit a losing streak and found themselves back in familiar grounds playing .500 baseball.

Still only 4.5 games out of the wild card spot, there is still a chance for this team if they can find their stride.

Back to Ohtani holding back his tears in front of Mike Trout who looked equally disappointed. Yet, Trout had more of the demeanor of same old same old. Ohtani is still getting used to the losing ways of Anaheim baseball as of late.

The Emotion Behind not being Traded

Again this is all speculation and could be 0% true or 100% true, or somewhere in between. This is my opinion on what happened.

The Angels lose a lot of games in bad, heartbreaking ways. That night I am talking about, Ohtani started on the mound as the pitcher.

He threw 4 shut out innings, and if you know Ohtani, he was also the DH that night. Ohtani had a game that kids dream of from the plate.

Shohei got 2 hits, scored 2 runs, recorded an RBI, and one of those hits went over the fence for a home run. On top of that he reach base twice on walks.

The Angels, quite literally behind Ohtani’s performance went into the 9th inning with a 2 run lead and were three outs away from winning.

After an ugly inning from the closer, with the bases loaded, a walk off grand slam was hit to break the hearts of Angels fans worldwide.

Now let’s backtrack a week. Now that we painted the picture of what happened that night.

Shohei Ohtani just wants to Win

With all of the rumors going around Ohtani being traded to a contender, one could only imagine that even the smallest part of Ohtani got excited about the idea of playing post season baseball.

To play meaningful games, to have a chance at a championship. My personal belief is that after having a monster game and not being traded, it all hit him at once.

This season might end at 162 games with all of his work, preparation, energy, time, physical and mental abuse over the last 7 months will be for nothing. He will have to get ready for next season to try it all over again.

The truth is Ohtani cares about the game, he cares about winning. That grand slam broke his heart and more scarily, made even gave him more motivation and focus on winning.

Rowan Donaghey is a Sports and Betting insider, and breaking news reporter for Stare Down Sports. You can follow him on twitter via @RowanDonaghey

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