Penton: Lucky to be a fan in the Ohtani era
By Bruce Penton
Baseball fans alive during the Shohei Ohtani era — and that’s you — should consider themselves among the luckiest fans of all time. Getting to watch and appreciate the extra special talents of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way star is an opportunity unmatched through decades of Major League Baseball.
What has Ohtani not done on a baseball field? So far, he has yet to pitch a perfect game, let alone a no-hitter. As a hitter, he has yet to have a four home-run game. He has not pulled a rabbit out of his ball cap, nor a quarter from behind his ear. He has not motioned for his teammates to stay in the dugout while he goes to the mound to pitch, nor has he pointed to centre field, a la Babe Ruth in the 1932 World Series, telling everyone in the stands and watching on TV that he planned to deposit the next pitch into the bleacher seats.
The 31-year-old Japanese baseball sensation has done almost everything else, though. He has dominated opposing batters on the mound, striking out more than one an inning, winning most of his starts (8-2 at last glance) and sporting a top five MLB earned-run average. He gives up roughly two hits for every three innings and strikes out more than one batter per inning. Hitters’ batting average against Ohtani is in the pathetic .170 range.
At the plate, Ohtani is among the best hitters in the game. He leads the Dodgers in batting average. He is top five in MLB on-base percentage and top three in OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). In other words, he has few peers at the plate. His WAR number is the majors’ best. (WAR is a comprehensive statistic that estimates how many more wins a player contributes to their team over a season compared to a hypothetical ‘replacement-level’ player.) Simply put, he is the greatest player in the history of the game.
Baseball has never seen such a unicorn. Babe Ruth was mythically a pitcher and a slugger, but he gave up pitching in 1919 and concentrated on playing the outfield and swatting baseballs into oblivion. The Dodgers have given no indication they plan to turn Ohtani into a one-dimensional player, although they have reduced his pitching days and left him to concentrate on hitting leadoff as the team’s designated hitter. He recently passed the 300 career home run mark and has 765 pitched strikeouts. No one else is even close.
“Like we all know, he wants to win that Cy Young, and he wants to help us win games, and he wants to be a really productive offensive player,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in an Associated Press story. “At this point, he’s doing all of the above.”
Ohtani has won four Most Valuable Player awards (two in each league). All of them came via unanimous votes. One more MVP award and he will tie Barry Bonds for No. 1 all-time.
And today’s fans are the fortunate ones to be alive and see this generational player perform.
Eamon Lynch of Golfweek, on dealing with one of the many problems facing LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil: “He needs to cultivate a genuine fan base that isn’t defined by loud, terminally online gobshites who can’t simultaneously type and pick their noses.”
Ian Power, on Bluesky: “If anyone ever says ‘Give me a ballpark figure,’ say 41,649. That's the capacity of Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. You’re welcome.”
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “I just saw where MLS has named a new commissioner. His first order of business will be to do whatever Lionel Messi tells him to do!”
Cathal Kelly of the Globe and Mail: “What have the Jays done well this year? If you take Dylan Cease out of it, nothing. If you include him, almost nothing.”
Another one from Kelly, on the recent winning surge by the Blue Jays: “They’ve stopped playing like the travelling recruitment department for a clown college.”
Super 70s Sports: “I’m not telling you what to do but my personal theory is never get on any midway ride that was assembled eight hours ago in a parking lot by a team of felons with knuckle tattoos.”
Another one from Super 70s Sports: “Someone needs to explain to me what Jordan was better at than LeBron.” “Offence and defence. I hope that clears it up.”
Mike Bianchi again: “Former Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels is upset that LSU is letting another player wear his No. 5 jersey. Who knew that NIL now stands for Name, Image and Legendary ego.”
Yankees former owner George Steinbrenner, after Lou Piniella complained about being forced to follow team rules regarding long hair and saying long hair worked for Jesus: “When you can walk across that swimming pool, you can play with long hair.”
One more from Bianchi: “Tony Romo’s future as an NFL analyst at CBS is in doubt due to a recent arrest on DUI charges. Apparently, Romo can predict a blitz before the ball is snapped, but he can’t predict when an Uber is the right play call.”
Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca