Shohei Ohtani's Angels reunion a reminder why joining Dodgers was the right decision

ANAHEIM, Calif. — For the first time since Shohei Ohtani joined the major leagues, the two-time MVP played meaningful September baseball Tuesday at Angel Stadium. 

It took a different uniform to make that possible. 

For six years, Ohtani provided the Angels with everything he had, defying the limits of what was imaginable. They gave him the chance to play both ways, and he rewarded them immediately in his stateside debut, hitting 51% better than league average while registering a 3.31 ERA on the mound as a 23-year-old sensation before his arm gave way. 

Ohtani's Rookie of the Year season ended with Tommy John surgery and an 80-82 record for his Angels club. He eventually came back even better; the inept franchise he played for never did. 

By 2021, Ohtani was inspiring awe again as a two-way sensation. He won his first MVP award, followed that up by finishing second in MVP voting and fourth in Cy Young voting in 2022, then ended last season with another MVP trophy — and another major elbow procedure. After his dazzling debut year, the Angels never won 80 games again, never finished better than third place in the division and never surrounded the most gifted player in baseball with the talent that could get him to the sport's biggest stage.  

Their failed last-ditch effort last year, adding at the deadline in hopes of capitalizing in Ohtani's contract year, fizzled out quickly. The Angels went 8-19 in August and cratered as Ohtani tore his UCL again. Most of their additions were placed on waivers before month's end to lessen the financial burden. Then they let the latest coming of Babe Ruth walk. 

The Angels were seemingly among the finalists in the sweepstakes to get Ohtani this offseason, but they never matched the