The Los Angeles have persistently proven their capability to come back by means of in big moments, with each one in all their gamers possessing the power to flip a recreation on its head.
This grew to become much more evident within the 2025 postseason, the place nearly each had his second in a giant second as they battled their approach to a second consecutive World Sequence title.
In a ballot from ESPN, managers from throughout MLB named the participant they’d least wish to face with the sport on the road. 5 of the six respondents named gamers.
Maybe surprisingly, just one supervisor — the Colorado Rockies’ Warren Schaeffer — listed Shohei Ohtani.
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“Shohei [Ohtani],” Schaeffer stated. “He appears fairly clutch.”
Schaeffer’s fear over Ohtani is comprehensible, because the two-way celebrity batted .341 in opposition to Colorado in 2025. He had 15 hits, 5 homers and 11 RBIs in opposition to the ’ divisional opponent this season.
Freddie Freeman’s title got here up thrice within the survey, making him the preferred reply among the many managers.
“Freeman has dominated us for years with the sport on the road,” Brewers supervisor Pat Murphy stated. “He’s executed it many occasions, damaged our hearts.”
Former utility man Skip Schumaker additionally voted for Freeman, however named Ohtani as the higher hitter between the 2.
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“I’m going to say Freddie Freeman,” Schumaker stated. “Hits righties, hits lefties, stays contained in the baseball, he’s a hitter, he makes use of the entire discipline, he swings on the proper pitches, he’ll take his stroll, so that you’re not going to get him out swinging outdoors the zone. He is aware of the place the zone is, doesn’t attempt to do an excessive amount of, and he’s going to place it in play. Clearly Ohtani is the perfect hitter, however I don’t wish to see Freddie.”
Diamondbacks supervisor Torey Louvullo additionally named Freeman because of his versatility and understanding of the sport.
“Freddie’s going to have the ability to perceive the pitcher, he’s going to regulate his method, he’s going to place the ball in play,” Louvullo stated. “You want a double, he’s going to hit a double. You want a single, he’s going to discover a approach to get on base.”
Former San Diego Padres reliever and present supervisor Craig Stammen is the ultimate supervisor to call a participant, and it’s one he pitched in opposition to a number of occasions throughout his enjoying profession.
“One participant, once I was a pitcher, that I at all times revered, that at all times put up a very good at-bat and was a troublesome individual to face was Mookie Betts,” Stammen stated. “He’s a very good hitter.”
Betts stepped as much as the plate eight occasions in opposition to Stammen earlier than the latter’s retirement, batting .500 in opposition to him with a house run within the common season and going 0-for-1 within the postseason.
The will look to take care of their dominance in essential conditions in 2026, as they chase a 3rd consecutive World Sequence title for the primary time in franchise historical past.
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Photograph Credit score: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports activities
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