Wow, what a week in sports. USC defeats Michigan, a Dodger pitches a complete game for the first time in the postseason since 2004 and they sweep the Brewers to go to the World Series for the second consecutive year after being 0-6 against Milwaukee during the regular season. Perhaps Michael Conforto will be added to the roster and win MVP in the World Series.
Jeff Hershow Woodland Hills
While basically sleepwalking through the first three games of the NLCS, Shohei Ohtani saves his best for last. He goes “Hollywood” and produces the single greatest performance in MLB history as the final curtain comes down on the Milwaukee Brewers and extends the Dodgers’ magical journey to repeat as World Series champions.
Stay tuned for the sequel!
Rick Solomon Lake Balboa
It’s a bird, it’s a plane … no, it’s superhuman Shohei! He pitches a shutout, strikes out 10, and hits three tape-measure home runs. Wow!
Marty Zweben Palos Verdes Estates
In the history of Major League Baseball, has there ever been a player like Shohei Ohtani? I don’t think so. Shohei is the best ever. Enough said.
Chris Sorce Fountain Valley
Now that the Dodgers have effortlessly powered their way back into the World Series, it’s quite obvious that $400 million actually does buy what it used to!
Jack Wolf Westwood
At last, the second coming of the Dodgers has happened. We’ve been waiting for it and hoping for it, and now it’s here. Great offense, great defense and superb pitching. Our new chant should be “all the way L.A., all the way.”
Cheryl Creek Anaheim
Statistically speaking, there is a case to be made in comparing the postseason accomplishments of Sandy Koufax and Blake Snell. From a historical perspective, there is no comparison.
Koufax is a legendary lifetime Dodger who pitched until he physically was no longer able to do so. Snell famously refused to take the ball in his last Giants start to save himself for a free agency money windfall.
Bill Waxman Simi Valley
Stop the presses! The world is still spinning on its axis! Holy Toledo, Dave Roberts finally figured out a starting pitcher’s arm doesn’t fall off after 100 pitches. Too bad he didn’t come to that revelation during Blake Snell’s Game 1 performance, but better late than never as the saying goes.
Mike Trout is in the final week of a profoundly frustrating season. His numbers at the plate have been shockingly pedestrian amid regular struggles with his swing mechanics, and he misses playing in the outfield.
Yet Trout remains optimistic and engaged — and the 34-year-old slugger says he still believes he can recapture his MVP form with the Los Angeles Angels.
“Yeah, I’m very confident,” Trout said Tuesday. “I think it sounds funny, but I joke about it with all the guys in there – when I see the ball, I’m good. When I don’t see it, man, it’s a battle.”
Trout entered the final homestand of the Angels’ 11th consecutive non-playoff season batting .229 with 22 homers, 59 RBIs and a .772 OPS. Those totals are all the lowest of his career during a season in which he’s played at least 100 games, and the OPS is his lowest since his first major league season in 2011.
Trout reached two big career milestones this season, getting his 1,000th RBI on July 27 and hitting his 400th home run last Saturday.
But after making baseball seem so joyously simple during his first decade in the majors, this 11-time All-Star admits he has been in a weekly fight for consistency at the plate.
“It’s been a grind this year, no doubt,” Trout said. “That’s what sports do to you. You’re not going to go out there and just get a hit every time or feel good every time. I get that. But it’s great to be able to get some confidence going into the offseason.”
At least the three-time AL MVP has stayed largely healthy this season after missing huge chunks of the past four years amid injury struggles that altered the substance of his baseball legacy.
Although Trout missed nearly all of May with a bone bruise in his knee that still bothers him in certain situations, he has stayed in the lineup ever since. He will play more games this season than he has managed since 2019 — even if it’s been mostly as a designated hitter.
Trout said he “definitely” wants to play the field again in 2026.
“I think he wants to put himself in a good spot in the last week to build off what, for him, was probably – I don’t want to use the word disappointing, but a frustrating season,” Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “He fought through some things, (particularly) physically, to remain on the field, because we all know how good he is when he plays defense. He’s not a DH, you know what I mean? He did it out of necessity. Hopefully he gets a healthy offseason, gets ready to come back in the spring and be Mike Trout.”
Before the Angels faced Kansas City, Trout went into extensive detail about what he has meant by “seeing the ball” when he described his 2025 struggles at the plate. It’s not an ophthalmological diagnosis, but rather a measure of his mechanics to make sure he’s tracking pitches with both eyes — a necessity for his timing.
Trout has struck out 173 times this season, the second-most of his career, with six games to play. That’s a function of being unable to put together the series of reactions that used to come so easily to him, he said.
“There was a lot of at-bats this year when I’d go up there and I knew what they were going to throw me, and I just couldn’t pull the trigger,” Trout said. “Something was just a tick off, and as much as I want to go up there and I try to put aside everything I work on in the cage and just go compete, it was tough for me, because the ball was moving. Nothing was slowing it down.”
Trout repeatedly thought he had found a fix this season, only to lose it again. He believes he made another breakthrough in September, hopefully allowing him to finish strong.
“Before, it was just a Band-Aid,” Trout said. “I think it’s more of a solution this time. To be able to confidently know what I’m doing, and to be able to get to a spot and start early and be on time every single time, I think it’s something to build on in the offseason.”
Trout has five seasons left on his $426.5 million contract extension, and he’s still looking for his first career playoff victory. The Angels weren’t close to postseason contention again this year despite a modest improvement from the worst season in franchise history in 2024, and Trout essentially said that he needs to sort out his own game before he can help to build a winner with shortstop Zach Neto and the team’s young core.
“We saw signs of good stretches,” Trout said. “We’ve just got to put a full season together. I think that’s the key. For me, I think if I can get back to where I felt this last week-and-a-half, two weeks for a full season, it’ll be different.”
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. This is a special bonus edition of the newsletter, because it is the one-year anniversary of something that should be remembered. Special note: I wrote most of the below newsletter Wednesday. On Thursday, Clayton Kershaw announced he is retiring at the end of the season.
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Kershaw is one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, not just Dodger history. He is a first ballot Hall of Famer. We have had a tendency to focus on his shortcomings the last couple of seasons and sometimes let it overshadow the fact he is one of the greatest Dodgers ever. It’s unlikely we will ever see such a great player spend 18 seasons in a Dodger uniform again.
I have other duties here at The Times that make it difficult to write the kind of newsletter tribute Kershaw deserves and have it ready for you to read early Friday morning. So I’m not going to try and I ask for you grace and patience on that. We will have coverage throughout the weekend from our great Dodgers beat writer Jack Harris, and from our columnists such as Bill Plaschke. So I invite you to visit latimes.com/sports this weekend to read what they have to say. We will have a full newsletter devoted to Kershaw next week.
In the meantime…. Kershaw is scheduled to start tonight against the Giants. It will be his final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium. Depending on how the postseason goes, it could be his final Dodger Stadium start ever. He deserves a lengthy standing ovation when he takes the mound. And, hopefully all goes well and he can be removed during the game after a nice start, and get a lengthy standing ovation as he walks off the mound. Dodgers fans won’t see a pitcher like him again.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled bonus newsletter.
Ohtani or Schwarber?
One year ago today, Shohei Ohtani created the 50-50 club. While having perhaps the greatest day on offense (Ohtani was six for six with two doubles, three homers, four runs, two stolen bases and 10 RBIs) in major league history, Ohtani stole his 50th base in the first inning (after doubling to lead off the game). Then after singling, doubling again and homering, he came up in the seventh inning against Miami’s Mike Baumann and hit his 50th home run of the season. You can watch each of his at-bats from that game by clicking here.
It was the first time in the majors anyone had hit 50 homers and stolen 50 bases in the same season. Ohtani had never hit 50 homers (his high was 46 with the Angels in 2021) or stolen 50 bases (26 in 2021). It was part of a magical season that ended with a World Series title.
This season hasn’t been as magical, but Ohtani is having another outstanding season. As good as last season? On offense, no. But any team in the majors would take Ohtani’s offense this season. Ohtani leads the league in runs scored, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS+, plate appearances, total bases and intentional walks. Let’s compare the two years:
Plate appearances 2024: 731 2025: 691
Batting average 2024: .310 2025: .283
On-base % 2024: .390 2025: .395
Slugging % 2024: .646 2025: .617
Runs scored 2024: 134 2025: 138
Doubles 2024: 38 2025: 24
Triples 2024: 7 2025: 8
Home runs 2024: 54 2025: 51
RBIs 2024: 130 2025: 95
Walks 2024: 81 2025: 105
Strikeouts 2024: 162 2025: 175
Stolen bases 2024: 59 2025: 19
OPS+ 2024: 187 2025: 179
WAR 2024: 9.2 2025: 6.7
Stolen bases are down, because pitchers have to protect their legs. But it’s another great season from Ohtani.
And the above doesn’t include the fact that on the mound he is 1-1 with a 3.29 ERA, giving up 35 hits and walking nine in 41 innings while striking out 54. By the way, no one has struck out 50 batters and hit 50 homers in a season until Ohtani this year. Another 50-50 club he has created.
The question is not “Is Shohei Ohtani having a disappointing season?” It’s “Should Ohtani win his third consecutive MVP award? His main competition is Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber. Let’s compare the two:
Plate appearances Ohtani: 691 Schwarber: 684
Batting average Ohtani: .283 Schwarber: .243
On-base % Ohtani: .395 Schwarber: .370
Slugging % Ohtani: .617 Schwarber: .567
Runs scored Ohtani: 138 Schwarber: 106
Doubles Ohtani: 24 Schwarber: 21
Triples Ohtani: 8 Schwarber: 2
Home runs Schwarber: 53 Ohtani: 51
RBIs Schwarber: 128 Ohtani: 95
Walks Ohtani: 105 Schwarber: 104
Strikeouts Schwarber: 181 Ohtani: 175
Stolen bases Ohtani: 19 Schwarber: 10
OPS+ Ohtani: 179 Schwarber: 152
WAR Ohtani: 6.7 Schwarber: 4.8
On the mound, Schwarber has … not pitched. Schwarber is a DH, so he doesn’t get bonus points for his defense.
The four favorites according to Vegas are Ohtani, Schwarber, New York’s Juan Soto and Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong. I would include Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo in that list, since he leads the NL in WAR and is having a very good season.
The only way Ohtani doesn’t win is if voters decide not to give it to the best player on a disappointing team and instead give it to Schwarber, who is having his best season on a strong Phillies team. Stats don’t always decide it. In 1988, a handful of players had better stats than Kirk Gibson, but Gibson was the most valuable player.
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Converse? Where Chuck Taylor retros reside? Sure, Gilgeous-Alexander — known simply as SGA — was a rapidly improving player on a rapidly improving Oklahoma City Thunder team. But him as the face of a fading performance sneaker outfit didn’t compute.
Fast forward to the NBA Finals. Moments after the Thunder’s 103-91 Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers, SGA ascended the stage to accept his most valuable player trophy with a golden colorway of his signature shoe hanging from his neck.
Then on Tuesday, SGA doubled down, enjoying the championship parade with “Trophy Gold” Converse SHAI 001s on his feet.
Who would have thought Oklahoma City would become a flash point of foot fashion. And during Paris Fashion Week no less, when big brands from Nike and New Balance to Adidas and Asics introduce new product lines.
Nothing enhances marketing like winning, and SGA is the undisputed NBA victor of the season. He’s the anointed MVP of the regular season as well as the Finals, leading the league in scoring and doing it all with an impish grin and requisite humility.
As creative director of Converse, the shoe fits.
“I’m able to essentially do whatever I want to do with the shoe. How it’s going to play out, the ball is really in my court,” SGA told Boardroom TV in December. “It’s something that I could imagine every athlete would want to ask for, to try and tell their story and show themselves to the world how they want to do it. To have complete control, it’s a blessing.”
But can SGA elevate Converse from the bargain rack? His SHAI 001s aren’t grandpa’s Chuck Taylor All-Stars, those classic shoes of timeless design consisting of a white toe cap over cotton canvas adorned with a distinctive All-Star logo.
Chuck Taylor was a semi-pro basketball player and traveling salesman for the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in the early 1920s when he designed the shoe. By the 1950s nearly everyone on a basketball court wore them, but they declined in popularity by the end of the 1970s before enjoying a comeback as nostalgic casual footwear.
A few years after going through bankruptcy, Converse was swallowed up by Nike in 2003 for $305 million. So, technically, SGA is just another massively paid shill for Nike, standing in line behind Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Selena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rory McIlroy.
But by aligning himself with an all-but-forgotten underdog of a brand, SGA has an opportunity to author a chapter in the signature shoe wars that could rival his already substantial accomplishments on the court.
There is one problem. The Shai 001 won’t be available for sale until the fall. Converse can’t capitalize on OKC and SGA fans wanting to rock the golden “butter” footwear of their new hero, and wanting them NOW.
A limited release, at least, did take place in downtown Oklahoma City for two hours Tuesday before the parade.
Aligning with a current player always involves an element of risk for a shoe company. Converse learned this firsthand in 1997 when it dropped Latrell Sprewell as an endorser and spokesman after the NBA star choked coach P.J. Carlesimo during a Golden State Warriors practice.
And the risk isn’t always about misbehavior. Puma unveiled the Hali 1, its first shoe in collaboration with the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton on the day this year’s NBA Finals began. Haliburton tore an Achilles tendon in Game 7 and will miss most, if not all, of next season.
So Converse must continue to be quick on its feet to capitalize on its so far fortunate choice of SGA to represent the brand. He’s only 26 and displays leadership and other qualities of a role model in addition to otherworldly hoop skills.
Can Converse become relevant again in the performance space? Can SGA become as linked to the brand as Chuck Taylor? First the shoes must hit the market. One step at a time.
“I wanted to create something new,” SGA told Boardroom TV. “I wanted to bring Converse into my world and have Converse through my lens.”
NBA’s MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads Oklahoma City Thunder to Game 2 win over Minnesota Timberwolves in West finals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points and Jalen Williams added 26 to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-103 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.
The Thunder lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 going into Game 3 on Saturday in Minneapolis.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who was selected the NBA Most Valuable Player on Wednesday and presented with the trophy before Thursday’s game, has scored 30 or more points in five consecutive games.
The 38 points tied a career playoff-high, and he added eight assists and three steals with just one turnover.
Chet Holmgren contributed 22 points in the win.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, left, shoots against Minnesota Timberwolves centre Rudy Gobert in the fourth quarter of Game 2 [Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images/Reuters]
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards finished with 32 points, shooting 12 of 26 from the floor but just one of nine on three-point attempts. He also contributed nine rebounds and six assists.
Julius Randle, who helped Minnesota build a first-half lead in Game 1 with a string of three-pointers, wound up with just six points in Game 2. He made just two of 11 shots from the floor – missing all three of his three-point tries – and did not play in the fourth quarter.
The Timberwolves got 17 points from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, plus 10 points and eight rebounds from Naz Reid.
Oklahoma City led by as many as 24 points late in the third quarter, but the Timberwolves clawed within 10 with just more than three minutes remaining.
However, that was as close as Minnesota would get late, as the Thunder repeatedly answered in the closing minutes.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, right, shoots against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, second right, and forward Chet Holmgren, left, in the third quarter [Brett Rojo-Imagn Images/Reuters]
Oklahoma City grabbed control in the third, turning up the pressure on defence once again.
Minnesota didn’t make a field goal for six minutes late in the quarter, missing seven consecutive shots and committing five turnovers as the Thunder stretched their lead to 24 late in the period.
After struggling from the field early in Game 1, Gilgeous-Alexander was much more efficient from the jump in Game 2, not missing a shot until just more than five minutes remained in the first half.
Edwards said he needed to shoot more in Game 2 after attempting just 13 shots on Tuesday in a 114-88 loss. He was aggressive offensively from the start on Thursday, attempting 10 shots in the first quarter (and making four) while adding three assists.
The Timberwolves were within three with just more than two minutes to go in the half before Oklahoma City closed strong.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored all of the Thunder’s points during a 7-2 run to take an eight-point lead into halftime. His spree included drawing a foul on Jaden McDaniels in the closing seconds and sinking a pair of free throws.
The Thunder led 58-50 at the break despite shooting just four of 20 from beyond the arc in the first half.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver presents Gilgeous-Alexander with the Michael Jordan Trophy for winning the Most Valuable Player award for the 2024-25 season [Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images/Reuters]
