LOS ANGELES — Rob Manfred likely watched in horror along with the rest of the world when Shohei Ohtani went down with a shoulder injury in the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 2 of the World Series. While the extent of the subluxation is not yet known, if Ohtani is unable to play again this week, it won’t just be a blow to the Los Angeles Dodgers, it will be a blow to MLB’s entire World Series marketing plan.
“Once in a Generation. Twice” is the league’s tagline for the series, but through two games, the two generational players haven’t quite delivered. Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, the presumed AL MVP winner, is 1-for-9 so far, which doesn’t exactly change the captain un-clutch narrative that seems to follow him year after year in the postseason.
Ohtani, the presumed NL MVP winner, hasn’t yet broken out in the series either, though he hasn’t exactly disappointed in his first postseason. However, MLB will surely be disappointed if his shoulder keeps him out of action.
A Yankees-Dodgers World Series is a dream matchup from a marketing standpoint. It’s two iconic franchises in the two largest media markets in the country with five MVPs and a Cy Young Award winner between the two teams with Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole wearing pinstripes, and Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts wearing Dodger Blue. Tons of money was spent to advertise the series in Times Square, Beverly Hills and beyond.
“More eyeballs are going to be watching this World Series than any other Series in history,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts predicted Thursday.
The series also has global appeal the league is hoping to capitalize on. MLB partnered with advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy on a campaign in Tokyo. The agency responsible for Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan collaborated with MLB on the placement of 113 billboards in Ohtani’s home country, one for each home run he hit and each base he stole this season.
FOX Sports is also hoping the Judge-Ohtani combo will bring more eyes to the broadcast after record-low ratings last year. Viewership habits have changed with streaming and Gen Z isn’t nearly as interested in watching sports as older generations. America’s pastime isn’t the most popular sport in America anymore, so the hope is that this marquee matchup would drive more interest.
Judge’s struggles aren’t going to dissuade viewers from tuning in, but the Yankees need his bat and his leadership if they’re going to get back into this series and extend it. Manager Aaron Boone thinks it’s an issue of swing decisions.
“Look, I think swing decisions are part of it,” Boone said after Game 2. “I think everyone is different in how they get loaded and started and on time, and then your swing comes out…That’s ultimately what hitting is about — it’s getting in the best position to make a good swing decision but also be in a strong position to get a good swing off. Everyone is different in how they do that, and I think he’s working through that a little bit right now.”
Judge has struck out in two thirds of his World Series at-bats so far. He owns a .199 average in 55 career postseason games and a .740 OPS.
The two standout performers so far haven’t exactly been unexpected, though they did largely fly under the radar in the week leading up to Game 1, Juan Soto for the Yankees and Freeman for the Dodgers.
Juan Soto, the hero that sent the Yankees to the World Series with his clutch homer in the ALCS, hit another one in Game 2 to briefly give New York the lead. It accounted for one of the two hits allowed by right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The intrigue and interest around his impending free agency grows with every big hit.
“I think he made mistakes against me,” Soto said. “He made a couple of good pitches in the first at-bat. He showed me everything that he got in my first at-bat, so I was ready for anything my second at-bat. He made a mistake, and I just didn’t miss it.”
Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history in Game 1, drawing parallels to Kirk Gibson’s homer in the 1988 series off Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley in the very same ballpark. The sprained ankle that limited the eight-time All-Star in the previous two playoff rounds has not been an issue in this one. He hit another home run in Game 2 off left-hander Carlos Rodon.
NLCS MVP Tommy Edman hasn’t exactly been an easy out either. The Dodgers utility man also has some international appeal as a Korean-American. His mother, Maureen Kwak, was born in South Korea and Edman played for the South Korean team in last year’s World Baseball Classic. Injured all season, then traded at the deadline from the St. Louis Cardinals, Edman is the feel-good story of the playoffs.
But Ohtani and Judge are the true superstars of the series. No others even come close. The league needs them, but sports rarely stick to the script. Not in Hollywood and not on Broadway.
Make marketing plans and the baseball gods laugh.
