Given what we know now about the musical tastes of Shohei Ohtani, we can see why Brad Paisley was tasked to sing the National Anthem at Game 3 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 27.
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In an interview with US Weekly, Mookie Betts, Ohtani's teammate on the Los Angeles Dodgers, revealed what the All-Star puts on his playlist.
"He's just a regular dude," Betts said. "He likes all different types of music — from country music to Latin music to K-pop. He's humming all these songs. He knows all the words to a lot of these songs he's listening to all the time."
We can only assume that the pitcher was listening to another music genre before last night's (Oct. 28) game. While he threw six strikeouts, he also gave up four earned runs in six innings of play. The series between the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays is currently tied at two games apiece.
Betts Says There's Only One Shohei Ohtani
Judging from his behavior, Betts says you'd never know the 31-year-old Ohtani is a three-time MLB MVP.
"Usually a lot of people like him — I mean, I guess I can't say there are a lot of people because there's really only one of him — but people like him, I'm not saying they don't hold themselves accountable, but they don't hold themselves to that same standard that he does," Betts said.
"He knows his standard is higher than everybody's, and so he knows he has to do things better than everyone," he adds. "I think he embraces it."
Could Brad Paisley Also Be Responsible for Ohtani's Performance?
Observers have also noticed the "Whiskey Lullaby" singer's effect on America's pastime. Whenever he performs "The Star-Spangled Banner," games go long.
Here's a quick rundown of Paisley's appearances:
- World Series Game 2 in 2017 (11 innings)
- World Series Game 3 in 2018 (18 innings)
- World Series Game 1 in 2024 (10 innings)
- World Series Game 3 in 2025 (18 innings)
Since Monday's game went a whopping 18 innings, maybe country music was responsible for Ohtani's performance last night. Say it ain't so!
