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Shohei Ohtani might have literally played the greatest game in the history of baseball on Thursday in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 20-4 win over the Miami Marlins.
In the win over Miami, Shohei Ohtani went 6-6 with three home runs and 10 RBIs, while also becoming the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to hit at least 50 home runs and steal at least 50 bases in the same season (Ohtani currently has 51 and 51 with nine games left in the 2024 regular season).
During and after Ohtani’s seismic performance, baseball pundits hailed it as the best in the history of baseball.
"OH MY GOSH! SHOHEI OHTANI! THE GREATEST DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY!"
"There's the cliché that you never know what you're gonna see when you go to the park. You gotta change that cliché from now on. There's one thing you know you'll never see- what you saw today." – Joe Davis ⚾️🎙️ https://t.co/XHue8pgMmU pic.twitter.com/TuFiFXIXi2
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 19, 2024
Appearing on Get Up on Friday, longtime MLB reporter Buster Olney agreed with that assessment.
“It was the best day in the history of this sport,” Olney told Get Up host Mike Greenberg.
“To get six hits in a game is insane. To have six hits and three home runs is absolutely nuts. The two stolen bases on top of it, and then the 10 RBIs. And then you hit the two benchmarks of 50 (home runs) and 50 (steals) — that’s crazy. Mookie Betts telling reporters after last night’s game, “I’m like y’all, I’m just watching what this guy’s doing in amazement.”
Fellow ESPN MLB analyst Jeff Passan and Jessica Mendoza also concurred with Olney.
"It was the best day in the history of this sport."
—@Buster_ESPN on Shohei Ohtani's record setting performance Thursday 🤩 pic.twitter.com/y4I3JWsWpz
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) September 20, 2024
Ohtani’s production is particularly remarkable when you remember that he’s also an ace pitcher. While Ohtani didn’t pitch this season as he was recovering from elbow surgery, the 30-year-old phenom had 86 career starts as a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels and boasts a 3.01 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 608 strikeouts, with a record of 38-19. There’s even some speculation that Ohtani could be used out of the bullpen in the postseason.
Despite the best efforts of New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, Ohtani also feels like a lock to win the National League’s MVP award, which would be the third MVP award of his career (2021 and 2023 in the American League).