The Los Angeles Angels finally became part of playoff discourse on Friday, but not for the reasons fans of the team would have wanted.
Former Angels star Shohei Ohtani painted a masterpiece in Game 4 of the NLCS. He mashed three home runs at the plate, with one of them being a mammoth 469-foot blast that had Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers teammates going crazy.
Ohtani did all of that while also striking out 10 Milwaukee Brewers batters across six scoreless innings to send the Dodgers to the World Series.
The performance was dubbed by many as the greatest in MLB postseason history. It also had several fans furious at the Angels for robbing everyone else of a chance to see Playoff Ohtani in action for over half a decade.
The Angels should be tried for war crimes for keeping Ohtani out of playoff baseball so long
— Brian (@BriRobitaille) October 18, 2025
The Angels had Trout and Ohtani for six years and couldn’t crack .500. Relegate them to the Guatemalan factory worker league.
— BZ (@BezBeyondThePen) October 18, 2025
the angels deserve jail time for wasting Ohtani’s time for so long
— 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒂 (@marianaizb) October 18, 2025
look at him goooo
The Angels of Anaheim had Ohtani and did absolutely nothing with him. That right there should be a punishable offense.
— Fryddéryk (@Frydderyk) October 18, 2025
Not deferring payments.
Others were just glad that the Dodgers saved Ohtani from a playoff-less purgatory in Anaheim.
I am grateful everyday that the dodgers rescued Ohtani from the anaheim angels
— Mark 🏆 #ACAB (@DodgersMark) October 18, 2025
I want to express my deepest gratitude for the @Angels and Arte Moreno for refusing to pay Shohei Ohtani.
— Allanghieri Clair Obscur (@Allanghieri) October 18, 2025
We would never see postseason Ohtani, this earthshaking performance, if it wasn't for them.
Thank you.
Thank god Shohei Ohtani left the LA Angels because this generational player deserves to play on the biggest stage every October. #Postseason
— Amy Murray (@VTDukefan) October 18, 2025
Ohtani spent the first six years of his career languishing on the Angels. The team went 401-469 during that span, all the while employing two of the greatest baseball talents ever in Ohtani and Mike Trout.
The closest the Angels got was during Ohtani’s rookie year, when the team went 80-82. The Angels have not made the playoffs in 11 years despite having a top-2 AL MVP finalist in seven of those campaigns.
Ohtani needed just one season with the Dodgers to secure his first World Series ring. He now stands just four wins away from getting his second.
