data-mm-id=”_dsf236xyh”>On Tuesday night, baseball fans got the full Shohei Ohtani experience. The Los Angeles Angels superstar threw 6.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out 10 while going 3-for-3 at the plate with two solo home runs. At this point, five-plus seasons into his MLB career, I feel confident in saying Shohei Ohtani is the greatest baseball player of all time. In the 147-year history of Major League Baseball we have simply never seen anyone do what Ohtani is doing. The man hits majestic 450-foot home runs, then goes out and hits triple digits with his fastball. Oh, did we mention he's also one of baseball's fastest players? Now before you jump down my throat, let me clarify something: I'm not saying Ohtani will have the greatest career ever. That distinction will forever be argued between a few players — Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Walter Johnson among them. But when you consider talent and the things he can do on the field, Ohtani has no peers in baseball's long history. The 28-year-old is MLB's only legitimate two-way player and he's dominating on the mound and at the plate. How dominant is he? Ohtani currently leads all of baseball in home runs (28), RBI (64), slugging percentage (.654), total bases (200), OPS (.1.039) and fWAR (5.0). There's no question he's the best hitter in baseball right now. Shohei Ohtani's night:2 HR as a batter10 Ks as a pitcher. 😱 pic.twitter.com/Bzm0Q3qvKF— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2023On the mound, Ohtani is 7-3 with a 3.02 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and 127 strikeouts against 39 walks in 95.1 innings pitched. His strikeouts per nine rate of 12.0 is the best in the American League and only Spencer Strider (14.3) tops him MLB-wide. He's a true ace. Shohei Ohtani had everything working on the mound. pic.twitter.com/ZlznAPhkOU— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2023Still not convinced? Let's get all historical with this breakdown.Ohtani struggled badly during the 2020 pandemic-shortened season following Tommy John surgery in late 2018. It was a situation no other player in baseball has ever had to deal with: playing full-time as a hitter while recovering from a pitching injury. That impacted him at the plate as he slashed .190/.291/.366 during that campaign. If you chart his career numbers since then, things start to look historic. Since 2021, Ohtani has played in 391 games. In that time he's hitting .274 with an on-base percentage of .369 and a slugging percentage of .575. That's an OPS of .944. That OPS would tie him for 29th all-time with Ty Cobb. He'd be fourth among all active players. Only Mike Trout, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto rank higher. Want some names Ohtani ranks above? How about Willie Mays, Edgar Martinez, Vladimir Guerrero, David Ortiz, Chipper Jones, Alex Rodriguez, Hank Aaron, Tris Speaker and Frank Robinson, just to name a few. Ohtani's slugging percentage is even more absurd. That .575 number would rank him 16th all-time, in a statistical dead heat with Rogers Hornsby (.577) and above Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Frank Thomas, Guerrero, Ortiz and the rest. Ohtani has only taken on a full pitching load in the past three seasons. He had 10 starts as a rookie in 2018, didn't pitch in 2019 due to the aforementioned Tommy John surgery and only made two starts in 2020. Since then he's been on the mound full-time and has posted outstanding numbers. He's 31-14 with a 2.78 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and 502 strikeouts, against 127 walks in 391.2 innings. Even if you include the years he didn't pitch full-time, Ohtani ranks third among active pitchers in ERA (2.97), fifth in WHIP (1.08) and first in K/9 rate (11.5). The numbers are astonishing. Ohtani is 28 and is only in his sixth season but he's already 52nd in WAR (30.7) among all active players. He just passed Yu Darvish (30.3) who is in his 11th season and is about to jump over Trea Turner (30.8) who is in his ninth. The scary part is, Ohtani may be getting better. There's no doubt he's having the best season of his career so far, particularly at the plate. He's set to obliterate his career-highs in home runs (46), RBI (100), batting average (.286), on-base percentage (.372), slugging percentage (.592) and OPS (.965). On the mound he's essentially matching what he did in 2022 when he went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP and 219 strikeouts in 166 inning. When you look at all he's currently accomplishing there really is no argument against calling him the best ever. Maybe it won't last and maybe his career numbers will flatten out, but right now he's the best anyone has ever seen on a baseball diamond. Do yourself a favor and find a way to watch him as much as you can.
Related Posts
Simone Inzaghi is aware of the importance of Inter s upcoming trip to Viktoria Plzen as he targets 10 points to stand a chance of progressing from a difficult Champions League group.
Having been drawn alongside two European heavyweights in Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Inter know taking maximum points against the Czech champions will be key to their hopes.
Inter suffered a chastening 2-0 defeat to Bayern on matchday one, but they have only lost their opening two games in one previous Champions League campaign, doing so in 2006-07 under Roberto Mancini.
Inzaghi emphasised the significance of bouncing back from that disappointment on Tuesday as he labelled Group C the toughest in the competition.
Undoubtedly, it is an important match; we know we ha…
Ivan Gazidis will step down as CEO of Milan when his contract expires next month, the reigning Serie A champions have announced.
The 58-year-old had held the position at San Siro since December 2018 following a decade as part of Arsenal s boardroom.
During Gazidis four years at Milan, the club ended an 11-season wait for the Scudetto, returned to the Champions League and improved their financial figures.
Amid recent speculation regarding his future beyond this year, the Rossoneri confirmed on their official website on Wednesday that Gazidis will depart on December 5.
Commenting on the announcement, Milan chairman Paolo Scaroni said: On behalf of everyone associated with AC Milan, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Ivan for his passion and dedica…
Liverpool defender and Women s Super League (WSL) record appearance maker Gilly Flaherty has announced her retirement from playing at the age of 31 for family reasons.
Flaherty made 177 WSL appearances with Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham and Liverpool, whom she joined last July.
She brings down the curtain on a career that saw her win four WSL titles, seven Women s FA Cups and the Women s Champions League in 2007.
London-born Flaherty, who also won nine caps for England, took the decision to hang up her boots following the recent death of her father.
A record breaker and history maker
We wish you all the best in retirement, Gilly Flaherty!
— Barclays Women s Super League (@BarclaysWSL)
It isn t a decision I ve taken lightly …
The Women’s Super League and Championship are preparing to break free from the Football Association after the top two tiers unanimously agreed to be governed by a new, independent body from next season.
Former Nike and Citigroup executive Nikki Doucet has been appointed to lead the organisation, NewCo, effective immediately, and will oversee plans for all 24 clubs to move into the new governance structure ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
Each club who participates in the WSL and Championship will act as shareholders under the NewCo model, which has long been in the works and is seen as an important step in growing what an independent review concluded this summer has potential to become a billion-pound domestic women’s football industry within 10 years.
The and…
Best Odds: 4/7
Bookmaker:
Looking to lay down another Group B marker and put one foot in the knockout stage, England will meet the USA on Friday night at the Al Bayt Stadium.
England
Starting with England, while the Three Lions might have opened this year s World Cup in the midst of an extended blip, Gareth Southgate s men laid down a real marker earlier in the week. Putting on a thumping display in Doha as they breezed their way to a 6-2 romp against Iran, the European giants will be desperate to use that as a platform to build on. Tipped as the leading contender to claim top spot in Group B, England will now be hoping to find some stability at the back. Signing off their pre-World Cup preparations with an action-packed 3-3 draw against Germany during Septembe…
Carlos Queiroz has demanded Jurgen Klinsmann resign from his FIFA position after making a string of accusations about Iran s World Cup team, labelling the German s comments a disgrace .
Iran head coach Queiroz reacted after his team were accused by Klinsmann of having worked the referee during the 2-0 win against Wales on Friday.
Working as a BBC pundit, Klinsmann suggested Iran getting to the match officials and pushing the boundaries of acceptability was part of their culture .
In response, Queiroz suggested California-based Klinsmann s outrageous remarks stemmed from his American/German background.
He said Klinsmann should visit Iran s training camp to learn more about the team, but must step down from FIFA s World Cup technical study group beforehand.…
Liverpool and Manchester City are doing battle for the Premier League title and both sides also remain in the hunt for the Champions League.
The Reds face Porto on Wednesday, holding a 2-0 advantage from the first leg, and Jurgen Klopp will be hoping for a repeat of their rampant 5-0 victory at Estadio do Dragao in last season s round of 16 a game in which Sadio Mane starred.
City, meanwhile, host Tottenham, with Pep Guardiola s side having to comeback from a 1-0 deficit, though Mauricio Pochettino will have to do without Harry Kane, who was injured in the first leg.
Here are some essential Opta Facts as we close in on the business end of the competition.
Porto v Liverpool
3 Mane scored a hat-trick for Liverpool versus Porto last term…
St Johnstone have signed Kerr Smith on loan and striker Benjamin Kimpioka on a permanent deal, subject to international clearance.
Aston Villa announced 19-year-old Scottish central defender Kerr has signed a new contract before making the loan switch back north for the remainder of the season.
Saints also confirmed 23-year-old Swedish forward Kimpioka, who previously had a spell at Sunderland, has joined on an 18-month contract from AIK.
Smith will join up with Craig Levein’s squad immediately, although St Johnstone’s cinch Premiership game against Dundee at Dens Park has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
He began his senior career with Dundee United and made 12 first-team appearances, making his debut at Ibrox at the age of 16, before signi…
Thomas Tuchel hopes to have a fully-fit Chelsea squad for the EFL Cup final against Liverpool after Hakim Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic recovered from knocks, while Reece James could also return.
Ziyech and Kovacic were both doubtful for the Wembley showpiece after picking up injuries in Chelsea s routine 2-0 Champions League win over Lille in midweek, while James has not appeared since December 29.
Chelsea are seeking their fourth trophy under Tuchel, having already won the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
The Blues will also be the first team in English football history to compete in one of the major domestic cup finals (League Cup/FA Cup) in six consecutive campaigns on Sunday, having reached FA Cup finals in 2017, 2018, 2020 an…
Having joined Chelsea from RB Leipzig last summer, Christopher Nkunku missed a large chunk of the season so far through a knee injury. He recovered in time to appear in the final three games of 2023, but now he is injured again, and manager Mauricio Pochettino has expressed concern about the situation with the 26-year-old forward.
I am a little worried with the situation
Mauricio Pochettino on Christopher Nkunku s hip injury, who recently returned to the squad after a long-term injury and is now set for another period on the sidelines
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews)
…