At the time, I didn’t think the Dodgers $700 million investment in Shohei Ohtani would be worth the money and hype because that’s a boatload of money. Whether they beat the Yankees or not, the Dodgers got their money’s worth.

Maybe because I’m blinded by the Cubs inept free agent history, I was surprised that a one-dimensional Ohtani would be this successful in his first season across town. By one-dimensional, I mean he wasn’t able to pitch this season. The Cubs and most teams (see the Mets and Frankie Lindor) don’t reap the benefits of free agency in the first season.

On the other side of the World Series ledger, the Yankees did pretty well with the Juan Soto trade and arbitration signing ($31 million). Even if they don’t win this year, I think Yankees fans are ready to sign the 25-year-old stud for whatever the Steinbrenners can afford.

What’s pretty cool about this particular battle of the stars is how a lesser-known player was the NLCS MVP. If anyone predicted that Tommy Edman would win the honor after an excellent run, I’d like some help with the Lotto. Giancarlo Stanton was the ALCS winner, but he’s a pretty well known, former NL MVP.

In 37 regular season games, the first year Dodger slashed .237/.294/.417 with 6 homers and 20 RBI. That’s hardly the stuff dreams are made of. In 15 postseason games with the Cardinals (2019-2022), he batted .224 with 3 RBI. In fact, his performance in the 5-game series with the Padres this year, he was dang near invisible hitting .235 with an RBI and 2 stolen bases. He beat out teammate Kike’ Hernandez who hit his 14th and 15th career postseason homers with 11 hits in 27 at-bats (.407) with a homer and 11 RBI.

And as much as those in the media “suggest” that the stars have to play like stars, it’s often the guys off the grid that come through when it matters most. More often than not, some of the guys return to relative obscurity. In recent years though, many have cashed in on this temporary fame.