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There are few things dudes love more than debating who the greatest athletes of all-time are in various sports.
Michael Jordan or LeBron James? Messi or Ronaldo? Oochie Wally or One Mic?
Okay, the last one is a discussion for another day. But you get the point.
Which brings us to one Shohei Ohtani, who is, already, the greatest baseball player of all-time.
Some of you may say “but he’s only in his sixth season.”
To which I say, “I do not care.”
Ohtani is currently doing something that hasn’t been done since of the days of Babe Ruth. The Los Angeles Angels superstar is absolutely dominating both at the plate and on the mound.
Through half the 2023 MLB season, he’s hitting .310 with 30 home runs and 67 RBIs. Both of the last two numbers lead the Major Leagues. He also leads the league in triples (5), slugging percentage (.674) and OPS+ (188).
Those numbers alone would be worth of an MVP caliber season at the halfway point.
But Ohtani is doing more. Much, much more.
Ohtain has made 16 starts on the mound this year for the Angels. He has a 7-3 record with a 3.02 ERA and 127 strikeouts, the third most in the league. That 3.02 ERA, by the way, ranks 14th best in the entire league.
Normally, when discussing the baseball GOAT, names like Ruth, Bonds, Aaron and Mays come to mind.
But just six seasons into his MLB career, the answer is clearly Ohtani. No played since Ruth has dominated the way that Ohtani has both at the plate and on the mound.
legit question: how many more years would shohei need to keep this up for you to put him no. 1 on your all-time best baseball players list?
— Robby Kalland (@RKalland) July 1, 2023
Like 1 or 2 more days tbh. There's nothing even remotely close. He might hit 60hr and have 200 strikeouts.
— Chansey The Rapper (@ChanseyDaRapper) July 1, 2023
If you had to win one game and had your pick of anyone in history for your fantasy draft, Shohei goes r1p1 every time. Might not make him the goat, but most valuable player ever? No question. Might not be close!
— beng (@kicknyrgios) July 1, 2023
https://twitter.com/ReallyDanWeiner/status/1674995306729992192?s=20
https://twitter.com/languishsink/status/1674995825867628544?s=20
And while Ruth is undoubtedly remarkable, the game has changed drastically in the last 100 years. It is infinitely more difficult to do what Ohtani is doing now compared to what Ruth was doing in the early 1900s.
There has never been another Shohei Ohtani before. There may never be another Shohei Ohtani again. We are witnessing an entirely new level of greatness, and we should consider ourselves luck to bear witness to it.