Shohei Ohtani tells Blue Jays fans to cry harder with dismissal of World Series boos

Shohei Ohtani must have expected boos during every World Series at-bat at the Rogers Centre, but Blue Jays fans kicked it up a notch in Games 1 and 2. "We don't need you!" chants started in the top of the ninth in Game 1, with Ohtani representing the last out of the game. You kind of have to hand it to the Toronto faithful; they were kind of funny.

It all stems, of course, from the fact that Ohtani is playing for the season's highest honors in anything but a Blue Jays uniform. He took $700 million from the Dodgers instead, after the Blue Jays offered him the same amount and treated him a full schmooze-fest that sent Ohtani home with a duffel bag filled with free merch, and committed the unforgivable sin of hurting Toronto fans' feelings.

Earlier in Game 1, Ohtani hit a towering two-run homer, his first ever in the World Series, and ran the bases like he was mad at them. He crossed home plate just steps behind Tommy Edman, who was coming from first.

But the Blue Jays had scored 11 runs by the time Ohtani hit that homer and the Dodgers didn't score after it, so Toronto fans were feeling good about themselves with the Dodgers down to their last three outs. (Ohtani walked on five pitches).

He brushed off the boos and chants, though, upon return to the much friendlier confines of Dodger Stadium. "It was a really great chant, and my wife really appreciated it," Ohtani said.

Shohei Ohtani brushes off Blue Jays' fans "We don't need you!" chants upon Dodgers' return to LA

Ohtani is still looking to make a real mark in the World Series. Apart from the homer, which was basically inconsequential by the time he hit it, he only picked up one other hit in Games 1 and 2, a single that went on to score a run. He was able to quiet most criticisms with the three-homer NLCS Game 4 that earned him MVP honors, but if he goes quiet again through the rest of the World Series, the same narrative will be back in full force.

Being back at home, where he'll probably be greeted by "MVP" chants at Dodger Stadium, will help, even if he was a good sport about the hostility in Toronto. The Dodgers have an opportunity to finish this one in LA, and Ohtani — on both sides of the ball — will inevitably take center stage no matter the outcome.