Shohei Ohtani Gets Wild No-Hitter Claim During Babe Ruth Debate
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Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani was on the receiving end of a bold take after his first start of the season.
Ohtani fanned six in six innings of work, marking a great start to his season in terms of results.
He allowed only one hit, proving he gets outs effectively, but his stuff was not at its best, which should be quite worrying for teams going forward.
The righty went 1-for-3 with two walks on Tuesday at the plate, changing erratically after he was done pitching to hit at the top of the order a few times.
With Ohtani throwing the ball so well and putting on a true showcase of his abilities, Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd felt good enough to take a firm stance on the debate between the Japanese star and his only other historical comparison, Babe Ruth.
“Last night, Ohtani, six scoreless innings, gets on bases of batter. He’s now, for the first time in a couple of years, he is now a full-time go both way pitcher and hitter,” Cowherd said on “The Herd.”
“And he’s absolutely remarkable. There’s something, though, in baseball, it’s almost a silly childlike romanticism, where we want to talk about the good old days.
“And, I think it’s disrespectful. I think the quality of baseball players has improved now that the sport is so global. It’s unbelievable. If Ohtani were pitching back during Babe Ruth’s day, I’ve got a feeling he would throw a no-hitter every outing.
“I know the soda jerk from Woolworths would give him trouble. And maybe the part-time milkman would draw a walk.
“The chimney sweeper would take him to a full count. I’m going to go with a guy who has now been an MVP three straight seasons.”
When comparing Ohtani and Ruth’s Baseball-Reference pages, the Red Sox legend has him well beaten in bWAR and years of sustained success.
However, Cowherd brings up a good point about the era of baseball, since modern athletes and analytics have the sport so optimized that it is harder than ever to produce.
His stuff and slugging ability, despite his sacrifices, are elite
Shohei Ohtani’s hitting performance
After his season debut as a pitcher, Ohtani spoke about his hitting, which is still below his usual level. He is getting walked at a high rate, making good swing decisions, but he is not punishing hittable pitches like he usually does.
Despite his effectiveness, Ohtani was still quite critical of his hitting.
“I’ve been able to get on base, and that’s a good thing,” Ohtani said. “But on pitches that I should be making impact, I’m not quite able to do that to the extent that I should be able to. That’s the part that I’m not quite happy about.”
Ohtani is always chasing excellence, leading to him pushing all year long, one of the many aspects that make him great.
