On the morning of the Dodgers’ regular-season finale last week, Ohtani’s laughter cut through the usual pregame chatter in the sleepy clubhouse.
Just minutes later, Ohtani’s focus turned to pregame preparations.
Seated next to first base coach Clayton McCullough, he intently examined an iPad displaying the scouting report for that day’s pitcher, strategizing his approach for attempting to steal a base.
He really wants to win.
“Everybody says he’s kind of a private guy, but within the clubhouse and within our guys, he’s been awesome,” pitcher Clayton Kershaw said. “You can obviously see how much he cares about winning.