The fact that Shohei Ohtani can pitch and hit well enough to be in a regular MLB lineup and rotation at the same time is remarkable. The fact that the Angels superstar is an all-star caliber player at both positions means he continues to add himself to the record books alongside perhaps the most legendary player in the sport’s history: Babe Ruth.
On Tuesday, Ohtani accomplished yet another feat on the diamond that puts him in a class previously only occupied by The Bambino.
Against the Athletics on Tuesday night, Ohtani pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and three walks. He struck out five batters on 91 pitches in the Angels’ 5–1 win, moving his record as a starter to 10–7 on the season.
Ohtani also hit a solo home run during the game, his 25th of the year. That puts him at double-digits in both homers and pitching wins for the first time, after he won nine games in 2021. The only other player to reach those milestones in a single season: Ruth.
Early in his career, Ruth was a similarly impressive two-way player, posting win totals of 18, 23, 24 and 13 from 1915 to ’18, before slowing down his play on that side. In ’18, he hit a then-career-high 11 home runs, making him the first player to hit double-digits in both wins and homers. Now Ohtani has matched him and is set to blow Ruth’s numbers as a full-time two-way player out of the water.
“It is too hard on the arm to play every day and then take your turn in the box. I found that I was never effective that way,” Ruth said after the 1919 season.
Time will tell if Ohtani can do both in the long term, but as long as he does, he will be the greatest spectacle that the sport has.
