The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers faced off in the World Series last year. The two historic franchises have been home to some of the greatest players in the history of baseball.
Babe Ruth is often regarded as the greatest player of all time. However, recently, Shohei Ohtani’s greatness has led many to question whether he is the greatest player ever. Both players share a unique ability in the fact that they were both successful two-way players.
Despite Ruth’s greatness, MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds does not think he belongs in a conversation with Ohtani when it comes to greatness. Reynolds himself was a player and was a two-time All-Star with the Seattle Mariners.
“Babe Ruth isn’t even in the stratosphere with this guy,” Reynolds said on “MLB Tonight.” “This is the greatest baseball player we’ve ever seen. … He had a flair, and that’s where both fit. Have we forgotten the greatness of Shohei?”
Reynolds went on to talk about all of the things Ohtani has achieved in his eight-year career. He noted how Ohtani is one of the best pitchers in the game, has a 50-50 season, served as a closer to win the World Baseball Classic and other key moments. Ohtani is already a three-time MVP.
Ruth played 22 seasons, 15 with the Yankees. He is a Hall of Famer, MVP Award winner, seven-time World Series champion, and ERA champion. Ruth played most of his career before All-Star nods came into existence, but he is a two-time All-Star. He is third on the all-time home run leaderboard.
Ruth pitched in 10 total seasons. However, in four of those seasons, he failed to pitch in more than two games. During his six-year run as a full-time two-way player, he had a 2.19 ERA. Ohtani has a 3.00 ERA in six seasons as a starting pitcher and will make his postseason pitching debut later this postseason.
Ohtani has a long way to go to catch Ruth’s numbers, and there’s no telling if he will pitch throughout the remainder of his career or become a full-time hitter like Ruth did. However, Reynolds thinks Ohtani is a better player in a better era of baseball.
Regardless of how good Ohtani is and which era is better. Ruth’s numbers have him among the greatest players in any era. To say he is not even in the same “stratosphere” as Ohtani may be disrespecting a legendary career.
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