Is Shohei Ohtani the best we have ever seen in sports?

[Gerry Hamilton]

This is a serious question… 

Is Shohei Ohtani the best we have ever seen in pro sports … any sport?

Hitting 3 HR’s and striking out 10 in 6 scoreless innings in an NL Pennant clinching game is otherworldly. We will very likely never see that done again, unless he betters it. 

He continues to defy and do things I never thought I would see a singular player or athlete do.

[Gerry Hamilton]

Major League Baseball records …

Most seasons with at least 50 home runs and 20 stolen bases: The only player with multiple seasons to achieve this combination. 

First pitcher to hit a leadoff home run in a postseason game: A record he set in the NLCS. 

Tied record for most ballparks hit in a single season: Hit home runs in 18 different ballparks. 

First player in MLB history with a 50-50 season: Achieved in 2024 with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases. 

[UT_Ro]

Yes what he did yesterday cemented that he's the GOAT in all of sports 

[Gerry Hamilton]

 

[Gerry Hamilton]

Just now, UT_Ro said:

Yes what he did yesterday cemented that he's the GOAT in all of sports 

That’s where I come out too

[Gerry Hamilton]

The best I can find on last night …

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/breaking-news/article/mlb-playoffs-2025-shohei-ohtani-named-nlcs-mvp-after-3-hrs-10-ks-in-all-time-game-4-performance-011033993.html

[NothinButDaHorns34]

I guess i am bias because i think baseball is one of the most boring sports ever to watch, But no. 

[Texasborn91]

41 minutes ago, NothinButDaHorns34 said:

I guess i am bias because i think baseball is one of the most boring sports ever to watch, But no. 

Nobody will ever come close to doing what he’s doing ever again. It’s the equivalent of being a pro bowl quarterback on offense while also being able to go lock up a teams #1 receiver on the next drive. Insane. 

[Lock n Horns]

Phenomenal!  There aren’t many sports that allow you to dominate as a single player both on offense and on defense like baseball. You could have just as great of a game in basketball, football, soccer etc but the games outcome is too dependent on the other players. A shutdown pitching performance and one homerun and you win the game. There isn’t a single position on a football defense where you can single-handedly win an NFL playoff game. Too dependent on others. 

[hookemholds]

I think he could go down as the greatest baseball player of all time if he keeps this up. And a top 10 of all time athlete at least. He may be one of the best hitters baseball has seen… and he pitches to a consistent sub 3.5 ERA… as well as is nasty in the clutch time. 

[4thandFive]

Obligatory “need a salary cap in baseball” post.

 

Ohtani is going to go down as one of the greatest ever. But I still don’t like what the Dodgers have done- it’s sleazy and unfair.

[Gerry Hamilton]

3 minutes ago, hookemholds said:

I think he could go down as the greatest baseball player of all time if he keeps this up. And a top 10 of all time athlete at least. He may be one of the best hitters baseball has seen… and he pitches to a consistent sub 3.5 ERA… as well as is nasty in the clutch time. 

Just me, but he's already the best baseball player ever. He's breaking/setting too many all-time records prior to longevity stats.

To your point, longevity is whats remaining for him. 

At worst, he will be a 500 HR guy in 10 full seasons plus two partial seasons. Will likely win 50-60 games on mound, strike out over 1000. 

And one thing with all these guys in this age group, they lost the majority of the 2020 season to COVID. So statistically, a lot take a 120 game hit in terms of production. 

I actually think he's closing in on the best athlete we have seen in pro sports. It's truly incredible what he's doing. 

[Gerry Hamilton]

Two-way records

Modern era qualifier: Became the first player in the modern era to qualify for both the hitting and pitching leaderboards in the same season (2022).

Multiple unanimous MVP awards: He is the first player to win multiple unanimous MVP awards.

[Gerry Hamilton]

Ohtani is the first player in MLB history to be named the unanimous MVP three times in his career. He won the AL MVP award unanimously in 2021 and 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels, and the NL MVP award unanimously in 2024 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

[Oldest Horn]

Yes, until we see an all-Pro QB playing at an all-Pro level on defense we won’t see anything better. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Oldest Horn

[Gerry Hamilton]

In 2025, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs as a batter and record 50 strikeouts as a pitcher in the same season.

[Gerry Hamilton]

First player to make multiple pitching starts in a season while leading the Majors in home runs.

Ohtani achieved this rare feat, becoming the first player to do so since Babe Ruth in 1919.

[Gerry Hamilton]

Ohtani also became the first player to record 20+ stolen bases and 10+ pitching appearances in a single season.

[Gerry Hamilton]

Ohtani is only the second player in MLB history to win the MVP award in both the American and National Leagues, joining Frank Robinson. He accomplished this feat in back-to-back seasons, winning the AL MVP in 2023 and the NL MVP in 2024.

[Quinncent McManning, Jr.]

I’m with you on this. Most impressive athlete in relation to his peers I’ve ever seen. I can’t think of many others this far ahead in their sport. Bill Russell?  Usain Bolt?  Tiger?  

[Gerry Hamilton]

4 minutes ago, Quinncent McManning, Jr. said:

I’m with you on this. Most impressive athlete in relation to his peers I’ve ever seen. I can’t think of many others this far ahead in their sport. Bill Russell?  Usain Bolt?  Tiger?  

Yep. It's a very, very short list already. 

[Shmatt]

If he can consistently hit his over 0.5 Hits,runs and RBI next season then yes. Jkjk, dude killing the MLB rn in a good way.

[Gerry Hamilton]

To your point ...

I never thought I would see a golfer win 4 majors in a row (Tiger slam) ... and it's not talked about enough, but he was The Players Champion too and Canadian Open tournament champion at same time too. He held the five most coveted tournament titles at the same time. 

Tiger and Shohei are doing things we had/have never seen in professional sports.

[ClubWhatever]

Most strikeouts in season, as batter and pitcher combined

[utx2]

I was very lucky last night.  I was able to watch all three of his homers and some strikeouts while flipping between football and baseball.    
 

Baseball in general and the playoff's are always awesome.  Watching him last night and some through the years he has proven to be a humble and great baseball player.   Time will tell if he is best of all time but last night he had one of the most memorable nights that I find similar to the Kirk Gibson home run on two bad legs.   Amazing individual accomplishment.