Dodgers Co-Owner Magic Johnson Breaks Silence About Shohei Ohtani's Epic Game

Magic Johnson gave a generation of basketball fans in Los Angeles indelible memories with his feats on the court for the Lakers.

Now that he is a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani returned the favor with Johnson in attendance for Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Friday.

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Johnson wrote on his Twitter/X account after the game: "Dodger Nation, Cookie and I just witnessed one of the greatest baseball players that’s ever lived, Shohei Ohtani, hit three HRs and pitch a two hitter with 11 strikeouts in the @Dodgers 5-1 victory over the Brewers tonight to advance to the World Series!"

Dodger Nation, Cookie and I just witnessed one of the greatest baseball players that’s ever lived, Shohei Ohtani, hit three HRs and pitch a two hitter with 11 strikeouts in the @Dodgers 5-1 victory over the Brewers tonight to advance to the World Series!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) October 18, 2025

"We’ve seen a baseball player hit three HRs in a Playoff game," Johnson continued, "and we’ve seen a pitcher throw a two hitter and 11 strikeouts in a Playoff game - but we’ve never seen one player do both like Shohei Ohtani did tonight!"

We’ve seen a baseball player hit three HRs in a Playoff game and we’ve seen a pitcher throw a two hitter and 11 strikeouts in a Playoff game - but we’ve never seen one player do both like Shohei Ohtani did tonight!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) October 18, 2025

Starting a game for only the second time this month, Ohtani hit three home runs and threw six scoreless innings in the Dodgers' 5-1 win. After the game, he was named the series MVP.

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Among Ohtani's historic accomplishments Friday:

• He became the 11th player to hit three home runs in a postseason game — the first since former Dodger Chris Taylor did so in Game 5 of the 2021 NLCS

• He became the second pitcher in American or National League history to hit three home runs in a game, and the first since Jim Tobin in May 1942

• He became the first pitcher to lead off a game with a home run

• He became the first Dodgers pitcher to hit a home run in the postseason

"How far he hit this one tonight surprised me," Roberts said of Ohtani's 469-foot home run that left his bat at 116.9 mph per Statcast. "Probably not the distance, but the velocity of that one was impressive."

Ohtani began the series with only two hits in his first 14 plate appearances, but finished it with a game that both Roberts and Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy hailed as an all-time performance.

For his part, Ohtani downplayed his "slump."

“I felt like the last couple days I felt pretty good at the plate," Ohtani said, via interpreter Will Ireton. "Just because of the postseason sample size, the lack thereof, it’s just that. The lack of performance skews in a short period of time.”

No matter how you slice it, Ohtani put together one of the greatest performances ever on a baseball field. And Magic Johnson had a front-row seat.

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