The “MVP!” The chants echoed throughout Dodger Stadium when Shohei Ohtani He came to bat in the eighth inning on Sunday night. No wonder. The Dodgers slugger has been serenaded with those chants for most of the season and will likely be a unanimous choice to win the National League’s most valuable player award in November.
But when those same chants came back three batters later, when the Dodgers’ cleanup hitter Tommy EdmanThe 5-foot-10, 193-pounder stepped into the box for his final at-bat in a National League championship series. 10-5 Game 6 Victory About the New York Mets? Now that It was a surprise.
“Yeah, I could hear them, it was crazy,” Edman said amid another joyous celebration in the clubhouse filled with sparkling wine, beer, cigarette smoke and fast-paced music. “Definitely nothing what I expected. “Being in this situation is pretty wild.”
And guaranteed. On a team full of superstars, including soon-to-be three-time MVP in Ohtani, former MVP in Mookie Betting, Freddie Freeman and Clayton KershawIt was Edman who hoisted the NLCS Most Valuable Player trophy above his head in the victory stands as his teammates, coaches and a crowd of 52,674 cheered him on.
And how did that trophy feel?
“Heavy,” said Edman, the unassuming utility man who was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-team deal. trade deadline agreement. “It was amazing to pick it up.”
Edman did much of the heavy lifting for the Dodgers on Sunday night, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead with his two-run double to left field in the first inning, the first lead change in a National League Championship Series marked by imbalances. scores, and followed Teoscar Hernández’s single in the third with a two-run homer to left-center field for a 4-1 lead.
The switch-hitter reached on a fielder’s choice grounder and scored in the eighth to cap a National League Championship Series in which he hit .407 (11 for 27) with a 1.023 on-base plus slugging percentage, a home run, three doubles and 11. RBIs, tying Corey Seager’s franchise record for RBIs in a National League Championship Series, set in 2020 against the Atlanta Braves.
“It’s pretty crazy, especially with the history of the organization, to have tied that (RBI) record,” Edman said. “But it’s a testament to the guys on the team. Our whole lineup was really good. I kept getting up with guys on base and had a lot of opportunities to drive in runs.”
Edman hit an RBI double and a two-run double from the cleanup spot on a 10-2 game four victory about the Mets in New York. He said batting fourth “still feels strange to me,” and even manager dave roberts He said, “When we got him, I never imagined he’d be fourth in a playoff game.”
But with middle-of-the-lineup hitter Freeman sidelined with a sprained right ankle, Mets starting left-hander Sean Manaea, who limited the Dodgers to two earned runs and two hits in five innings of Game 2 in New York, 7-3. victory, and Edman was a much more dangerous hitter from the right side, was the right choice Sunday night.
After Ohtani led off the bottom of the first with a single to center and took third on Teoscar Hernández’s single against the center field wall, Edman fell behind 1 and 2 in the count, but fell behind with a speed of 79 mph. sweeper, hitting a two-run double into the left field corner for a 2-1 lead.
“Manaea really made a really good pitch on the backdoor sweeper,” said Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations. “I think his ability to put up with that and hook it in the future was really deflating for Manaea.”
Edman’s home run in the third inning, with Teoscar Hernández on board, was a bit of a dagger. Manaea stepped up with another 1-2 count and attempted to slide a 91 mph fastball over the top past Edman, who launched a ball that left his bat at 104 mph and traveled 406 feet over the center field wall. left for a 4. -1 clue.
“I heard some people call him ‘Little Tommy’ on TV, but there’s nothing small about his bat,” said fellow utility man Kiké Hernández. “It has a lot of pop, especially on the right side. He carried the offense in this series. It’s locked up. I did the work. Most Valuable Player.”
Edman started the playoffs in center field, but moved to shortstop in Game 3 of the National League Division Series against San Diego when Miguel Rojas aggravated a left adductor strain. Rojas hopes to return for the World Series against the New York Yankees, but if he is activated, it will likely be as a reserve.
Read more: Dodgers overcome ‘toughest year’ to beat Mets and reach World Series
Edman, who is hitting .341 (15 for 44) with an .810 OPS, one home run, three doubles and 12 RBIs in 11 playoff games, will likely remain at shortstop, and Kiké Hernández, who is hitting .303 (10 of 33). ) with an .863 OPS, two home runs and five RBIs, will remain in the lineup in center field or third base.
“I think Tommy was definitely the MVP,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “Not just on this show… he came in mid-season, but he did a really good job, including things that aren’t reflected in the numbers. “I think he is a wonderful player.”
Roberts added: “I trust him. The boys trust him. He’s made big defensive plays for us and had big hits. “We are very lucky to have a player like Tommy.”
Edman missed the first four months of the season while recovering from wrist surgery and a sprained ankle and didn’t even play his first game with the Dodgers until August 19. He batted .237 with a .711 OPS, six home runs and 20 RBIs. in 37 games, and although he closed the season on a 2-for-30 slump, he found his stride in October.
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Another big night at the plate for Edman, capped by an NLCS Most Valuable Player award, was an emotional night in Section 105 of the Loge Level of Dodger Stadium, where the Edman family, including father John, the baseball coach from Tommy at La Jolla Country Day School, were sitting.
“We definitely had tears in our eyes,” John Edman said. “I mean, it was obviously a tough season for him with the injury and not knowing when he’d be ready, and I think he was pretty frustrated. That it remains like this is very special.
“When he scored the double, we went crazy. When he hit the home run, the entire section went crazy. And the MVP chants… that blew me away. “It was incredible.”
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This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.