When Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani emerged as a two-way player, he smashed a massive barrier that had stood for a century. But Ohtani’s ability to do both at an elite level — not just pitch and hit — is what truly sets him apart.
Last season, he started the 50-50 club with more than 50 home runs and more than 50 stolen bases. Parallels to the Great Bambino started to pop up after his record-breaking performance.
Ken Rosenthal Doesn’t Believe Shohei Ohtani Will Match Up to Babe Ruth
On a recent episode of the “Foul Territory” podcast, American sportswriter and reporter Ken Rosenthal was asked who would finish with more innings pitched — Ohtani or Babe Ruth.
Rosenthal said, “If I’m not wrong, Shohei’s at about 400 and Babe Ruth was about 1,200. Shohei has got to pitch 800 more innings. I’m not sure Shohei Ohtani is going to get to Ruth’s level.”
“I just don’t think Shohei is going to pitch that much and for that long.”
Ruth was dominant on the mound and finished his pitching career with a Hall of Fame–worthy 2.28 ERA over 10 seasons, including 107 complete games and 17 shutouts.
Even though Ruth and Ohtani get compared a lot, there’s always been more that separates them than connects them. For instance, Ruth only played both ways full-time once, in 1919, and he was basically a league-average pitcher that season.
Ruth never came close to the level of consistent two-way success Ohtani has put together over several seasons. And because Ohtani has always wanted to pitch, arguments that he should focus on just one side of the ball haven’t really gone anywhere, at least not yet.
But those talks might be changing. And maybe for a reason that adds another link between the two. Ohtani might be getting so good as a hitter that, like Ruth in the late 1910s, continuing the two-way grind just doesn’t make sense anymore.
This type of shift is nothing new. Rick Ankiel’s career didn’t really overlap between pitching and hitting, aside from a few pinch-hit appearances. He made the switch after struggling with the yips. Micah Owings and others who could hit better than most pitchers — but still not like regular hitters — fit that same mold.
If the Dodgers asked, would Ohtani give up pitching at some point? It would be today’s version of the Ruth dilemma that the Boston Red Sox faced back in the day. And if that decision ever comes, it’ll be because a team full of analysts crunched the numbers and found something worth acting on.
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