Ohtani gets a taste of the World Series celebration

There were moments during Wednesday night’s Dodgers’ World Series celebration when Shohei Ohtani looked giddy. He beamed, he giggled, he danced. He created geysers of beer and champagne, his face awash in the kind of childlike wonder that belies the fact that he is both a 6-4 giant of a man and one of the greatest players baseball has ever seen.

“I feel like the celebration I had in the past in Japan in the WBC was a little toned down,” he said through an interpreter, speaking about his previous two championships. “I was really able to enjoy (the party) here today in a different way, and it was really fun.”

It was more than fun. It was raw.

Shortly after Freddie Freeman collected the World Series MVP trophy, the Dodgers marched into the plastic-covered visitors clubhouse at Yankee Stadium and caused the right amount of chaos. Here were Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow, both inexplicably shirtless, spraying each other with champagne like they were SuperSoakers. Oh, did Teoscar Hernandez do an interview? It doesn’t matter. Time to dump an entire bottle of Budweiser on his head. Oh, did Teoscar Hernandez do another interview? It doesn’t matter. . . (you get the idea).

“We’re enjoying the (expletive) of this tonight,” Dodgers general manager Andrew Friedman said. “We’re going to focus on this performance and once we sober up, we’re going to focus on trying to do it again.”

They certainly seem built for it, which is why Ohtani signed with the Dodgers in the first place. After languishing with the Angels, who have proven shockingly adept at taking some of the best talent in baseball and doing a lot of nothing with them, Ohtani came to Los Angeles with the intention of being a winner.

“I’m honored to be part of our longest season and get to know this team,” he said. “My first year and experience winning a World Series was a tremendous honor.”

And while he didn’t have the most successful World Series — he hit .230 over the five games — he played Saturday despite dislocating his shoulder in Game 2. Just his presence in the lineup made a difference, manager Dave Roberts said. “I think he earned even more respect from his teammates who played with one arm,” Roberts said.

He added that he was “excited” for Ohtani.

“Six years in the United States, maybe the best player in the major leagues,” Roberts said. “He committed himself to us and wanted to play for the championship. That it blossoms in its first year is quite remarkable. What Shohei has done to our baseball club, the Dodger fan base domestically and globally, I don’t think you can quantify that. And he’s just such a good guy. In the postseason he played with one arm. Most guys would probably tap out, but he wouldn’t be denied the opportunity to play, post, and be in the lineup. For him to lift the World Series trophy is something he dreamed of, I’m sure.”

However true, the big party afterwards turned out to go even further than he had imagined.

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist for local professional sports teams; she started at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.