On March 21, Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout in a storybook conclusion to the World Baseball Classic.

On Dec. 9, Ohtani agreed to the most lucrative player contract in the history of sports, a heavily deferred $700 million pact with the Dodgers.

In between, Ohtani continued to hit and pitch like no other player simultaneously has in MLB history on the way to becoming the first-ever two-time unanimous MVP winner.

A lot of stirring, fascinating events and achievements happened in 2023. The most seismic rule changes in the game’s history were instituted. Super teams crumbled. The Rangers won the World Series for the first time in their history.

But you can throw in the largest contract ever for a manager and the largest pitching contract awarded — to a pitcher who has yet to throw a major league inning — and nothing alters this:

In baseball, this was the Year of Shohei Ohtani.

He was the signature player in the WBC, coming out of the pen to whiff his now former Angels teammate Trout — best player now vs. the guy he took the baton from — to seal the title for Japan. He could not elevate the Angels in the same way, yet again. But never let it become rote that the same player who struck out 31.5 percent of the batters he faced over 132 innings also led the AL in homers with 44 — while stealing 20 bases and accumulating eight triples.

7Shohei Ohtani clinched Japan’s World Baseball Classic title by striking out former Angels teammate Mike Trout.Getty Images

7Shohei Ohtani was named the American League’s MVP following the 2023 season.Robert Sabo for the NY Post

He hit, he pitched, he earned. He needed a second elbow procedure that will keep him from pitching in 2024. That did not dissuade a bidding process in which at least three organizations were willing to meet Ohtani’s structure of a 10-year, $700 million contract with $680 million deferred — ostensibly to give billionaire owners the current-day monetary maneuverability to keep spending. Which the Dodgers did by inking Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million free-agent deal, which eclipsed Gerrit Cole’s $324 million for the most ever.

Los Angeles also obtained Tyler Glasnow from Tampa Bay and agreed to a five-year, $136.5 million extension with the righty.

The more than $1 billion in long-term investment was staggering — and the Dodgers might not be done. It is why they have risen to Super Team and the Goliath all other clubs will be trying to take down. So we already have a front-runner for the biggest story of 2024. But why don’t we close out 2023 with the rest of a top 10:

7Shohei Ohtani ended his free agency sweepstakes with a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers.AP

2. The new rules were roundly hailed, notably the institution of a pitch clock that led to nine-inning games dropping to an average of 2 hours, 40 minutes — a 24-minute decrease from 2022. There were just nine 3 ¹/₂-hour games after 232 in 2022.

Larger bases and fewer pickoff throws led to the best stolen-base percentage ever (80.2) and the most overall in a season since 1987, when Vince Coleman stole 109 all by his lonesome.

But perhaps the most important impact is that the most tradition-bound sport — and, thus, most hesitant to change — made lots of alterations and did not create an apocalypse. Instead, it fostered a better style and pace. Players still voted against more changes coming in 2024 such as reducing the pitch clock from 20 seconds to 18 with men on base, which passed nevertheless because MLB has stacked the competition committee to do as the league wants.

Hopefully, though, what was incubated was a broader open-mindedness and willingness for still more experimentation and change to keep the game entertaining. The institution of the Spring Breakout this March where the best prospects from each organization will play against each other for four days is a terrific idea, for example.

3. You could have made a nice buck if you bet at this time last year that the Mets, Yankees, Padres and Cardinals would all miss the playoffs. The first three had the largest payrolls in the game while St. Louis had made the playoffs four straight years and previously had one losing record in the 2000s (2007).

All missed the postseason and were hardly ever a factor in the second half. The Mets were sellers by the trade deadline. The Padres lowered payroll this offseason by trading Juan Soto to the Yankees, who were trying to rework an offense that was 25th in runs per game.

It feels impossible that the 2024 Dodgers will miss the playoffs. But think about this foursome missing it in 2023.

7Juan Soto’s Padres missed the postseason in 2023 despite a massive payroll.Charles Wenzelberg

4. The A’s raised ticket prices, lowered payroll, put a Triple-A level team on the field, did not improve its eyesore stadium and it all felt contrived to make an escape to Las Vegas more understandable when fans didn’t come — though they did one night in June in a “reverse boycott” to protest against the ownership of the tone-deaf trust fund baby John Fisher.

The other owners unanimously approved a move that felt incomplete and insincere, most likely to assure such support if they are playing the leverage game for public funds in their city. When it comes to baseball ownership you can almost always guarantee: self interest is greater than best interest of the game.

In the short run, the league has a team that will have questions where it will be playing for the next few years and at what competitive level.

5. Do you remember the scene in the “Ocean’s 11” remake in which George Clooney’s Danny is talking at Brad Pitt’s unresponsive Rusty asking if 10 is enough to pull off the elaborate heist:

Danny: “Ten oughta do it, don’t you think?”

Rusty stares without responding.

Danny: “You think we need one more?”

Rusty doesn’t respond.

Danny (less certain): “You think we need one more.”

Rusty doesn’t respond.

Danny: All right, we’ll get one more.

Rusty blinks.

In a period from the 2021-22 offseason to the 2023 trade deadline, the Rangers had signed outside free agents Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jon Gray, Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, Robbie Grossman and Will Smith for more than $800 million, and traded for Aroldis Chapman and Max Scherzer. That was 10. They needed one more. They traded for Jordan Montgomery. They don’t win their first-ever World Series without him.

Montgomery appeared in 11 regular-season games for Texas and six in the postseason and had a 2.83 ERA overall in the 17 appearances. He critically won ALCS Game 1 against the defending champ Astros as a starter and Game 7 in relief of the injured Scherzer.

Bruce Bochy won his fourth World Series as a manager as the Rangers went 11-0 on the road in the playoffs.

7Jordan Montgomery became an integral part of the Rangers’ run to their World Series title.Getty Images

6. Bochy will continue on, but the end of a managing era came with the close of the season. After Houston was eliminated by Texas, Astros manager Dusty Baker, 74, announced his retirement. Terry Francona, 64, stepped down as the Guardians’ manager. Buck Showalter, 67, was the most overt casualty of the Mets’ disappointing season.

Baker is seventh all-time in managerial wins with 2,183, Francona is 13th at 1,950 and Showalter is 19th with 1,727. The man just ahead at 18th, Jim Leyland (1,769), was elected to the Hall of Fame in December.

7. Might this be remembered as the year a sustained run of excellence by the Orioles began?

At 83-79 in 2022, Baltimore had its first winning season since 2016 under Showalter. But it was possible without a significant upgrade to the roster, especially pitching-wise, that there would be a regression in 2023. Instead, the Orioles’ 101 wins were the franchise’s most since 1979. They won the AL East, even though Tampa Bay began the season 13-0 and 20-3, plus the Yankees, Blue Jays and Red Sox overwhelmed Baltimore in payroll.

The Orioles took Adley Rutschman with the first pick of the first round in 2019 and Gunnar Henderson with the first pick of the second round and they feel like tent poles to a run — with Jackson Holliday (the first overall pick in 2022) ready to join the cast in 2024.

7Top prospect Jackson Holliday could join a strong Orioles lineup in 2024.AP

Kyle Bradish broke out, Ryan O’Hearn emerged from the scrap heap and Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano formed the best bullpen 1-2 before Bautista needed Tommy John surgery that will cost him the 2024 season.

Baltimore still has not obtained the elite starter that feels like a finishing piece to this group — but has the farm depth to land that entity should it get bold.

8. After the Brewers were eliminated, a big question became whether Craig Counsell would stay as Milwaukee’s manager or team up again with David Stearns in Queens or replace Francona in Cleveland. The answer?

He took a managerial record five-year, $40 million deal with the Cubs, who went from vouching for David Ross to firing him to open the managerial office for Counsell. It all felt covert and a little distasteful, but it did signal that the Cubs were now in it to win it — right?

Except more surprising even than the cover-of-dark record deal for a manager has been the Cubs’ inaction since. As the new year neared, the Cubs had yet to sign a major league free agent or trade for a player. There has to be something coming, doesn’t there? You don’t give a record contract to a manager and then not give him more tools to win.

7The Cubs haven’t made a splash in free agency since Craig Counsell bolted to Chicago from the Brewers.AP

9. Wander Franco is 22 and still has nine seasons left on a Rays record 11-year, $182 million contract. The Dodgers’ Julio Urias is 27 and was expected to be in the conversation with Montgomery and NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell for which free-agent pitcher received the largest pact after Yoshinobu.

But Franco was placed on the Rays’ restricted list on Aug. 13 as an investigation in the Dominican Republic into an alleged relationship with a minor was launched. MLB soon after put Franco on administrative leave, where he still resides as the league awaits what legal actions (if any) are undertaken in the Dominican Republic.

On Sept. 3, Urias was arrested in Los Angeles on charges of felony domestic violence. Urias, who also was arrested in 2019 for domestic battery, was placed on administrative leave by MLB on Sept. 6. He still resides on the list as MLB awaits a decision by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office whether charges will be filed.

It is possible that neither plays in the majors in 2024 — and beyond.

10. Ronald Acuña Jr. was a beneficiary of the new rules that encouraged base stealing — and, of course, his overflowing talent. He became the first 40-homer/70-steal player in history. And the achievement is elevated by this:

• He also was the first-ever 40/50 and 40/60 player.
• His 41 homers were 13 more than anybody ever had within a 70-steal season. Rickey Henderson hit 28 homers in 1986 while stealing 87 bases.
• His 73 steals were 27 more than anybody ever had within a 40-homer season. Alex Rodriguez had 46 steals in 1998 while hitting 42 homers.

Acuña, not surprisingly, won the NL MVP.