Shohei Ohtani is not happy the Los Angeles Angels missed the playoffs with a 73-89 record.
While he granted it was "a good season for me personally" during an interview at Tokyo's Haneda Airport upon his return home to Japan, he was less pleased the team continued a postseason drought that dates back to the 2014 campaign.
"I have to say that August and September in particular felt longer to me than last year," Ohtani said, per Koji Ueda of the Associated Press. "We were not able to play as many good games as we would like, including 14 consecutive losses. So I have a rather negative impression of this season."
Ohtani was right about his individual efforts.
The 2021 American League MVP built on his performance from last year and finished with a .273/.356/.519 slash line, 34 home runs, 95 RBI and 11 stolen bases as an offensive player to go with a 2.33 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 219 strikeouts in 166 innings as a pitcher.