Mike Trout Shohei Ohtani Sep 7, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) celebrates with designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) after hitting solo home run in the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
FeaturedMLBBy Chris Novak on

The sports world was absolutely locked in on Tuesday night. Superstar baseball players Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani squared off in an epic showdown at the plate.

Team USA and Team Japan met in an incredible 2023 World Baseball Classic final. Trout and Ohtani, teammates on the Los Angeles Angels, were poised to face each other in a ‘dream matchup’ of pitcher vs. hitter in the top stanza of the ninth inning.

Many were giddy about the battle between Trout and Ohtani before it even happened.

The Angels made sure to let the world that they weren’t well. Don’t worry, Halos. Everyone who was anyone got encapsulated by that drama.

Future NFL Hall of Famer JJ Watt was fired up, showing the love for the sport across all different spectrums on Tuesday night.

Several on Twitter had a few jokes to lighten the mood while tension built up towards the anticipated at-bat.

Some fans daydreamed about Shohei Ohtani on their team. I mean, really, could you blame anybody for that at this point?

Robby Kalland suggested some high stakes for the matchup. “Whoever wins the Ohtani-Trout at bat gets freed from the Angels. The other must stay for life. The stakes have never been higher,” Kalland tweeted.

As the AB approached, Fox’s MLB account posted a shot of Mike Trout looming in the Team USA dugout.

Ohtani got former AL MVP Mookie Betts to ground into a crucial double play to put two outs on the board. So that set up the ultimate matchup: Mike Trout versus Shohei Ohtani in the top of the ninth in a 3-2 game. How do you like that?

https://twitter.com/BarbChairScott/status/1638370164742979594

Milwaukee TV anchor Dan Molloy was sure to take in the moment as it happened in front of him, much like so many others around.

Ohtani delivered an absolutely nasty slider to strike Trout out on a 3-2 count.

The beautiful pitch left many like Thomas Cavanagh in awe.

Team Japan, who went undefeated in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, won their third WBC title after the game.

WWE superstar IYO SKY, who attended the WBC Final in Miami, let her feelings be felt about the epic conclusion to the incredible game.

And we, of course, got a reminder that tonight those jokes will fly and Mike Trout won’t hear the end of it anytime soon.

[The Comeback]

About Chris Novak

Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022

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