"In awe every night" - Former teammate claims Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Clayton Kershaw were starstruck by Shohei Ohtani

Three LA Dodgers greats, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Clayton Kershaw, have been in the league for over a decade, but they were apparently blown away by Shohei Ohtani. Kevin Kiermaier, who was with the Dodgers in 2024, claimed this to be the case in a recent podcast appearance.

Ohtani signed a whopping 10-year, $700 million deal last offseason. He backed it up with an incredible season, becoming the first MLB player to break the 50-50 barrier, as he finished the season with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. He played through a shoulder injury in the World Series, which ended up in their favor.

In Monday's episode of "Casa De Klub," Kiermaier joined to discuss playing with the Dodgers and experiencing Shohei Ohtani more closely.

"A true student of the game and did his homework like no other," Kiermaier said (13:02 onwards). "I've got nothing but respect for him. He is different from everybody else, and everyone knows that. You get great players like Mookie, Freddy, and Kershaw, who've seen so many different guys, and people are blown away by him. They're all in awe every night."

Big names but no ego clash, says Jack Flaherty on sharing locker room with the likes of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw

Kevin Keirmaier wasn't the only one to comment on the positive atmosphere within the Dodgers clubhouse; Jack Flaherty also experienced something similar but in a different way.

The Dodgers 2024 roster was no less than an All-Star lineup, especially with so many future Hall of Famers sharing the same dugout. Many thought it would be hard for the team's management to keep everyone happy as egos may get hurt, but with LA, that never turned out to be the case, as Flaherty explains.

"I’ve known Mookie a little bit, heard great things about Freddy from Max, who had played with him, heard about Shohei from Goo [Lucas Giolito], who played with him, and I’ve known Kersh a little bit," Flaherty said on 'Throwbacks' podcast.

"But none of that ego stuff was the case. Nobody acted like they were above anyone else. From top to bottom, everybody was the same—except, of course, for the usual rookie duties that certain guys have to do. But overall, that’s as close-knit a group as I’ve ever seen."

It would have been a surprise had the Dodgers not won the World Series. But since they won and with most of their core intact, a dynasty could be in the making here.