Baseball fans may get to watch Ohtani's feats for another 10 years

Having achieved everything this season - MVP to come - hopefully Ohtani gets that pitching elbow right for next season.

10 more seasons (perhaps more) and there will no longer be any dissenting voices as to who is the greatest baseballer ever. The rest will just be honorable mentions in history.

With a third MVP season in the span of just four years (and he nearly won a fourth), its possible that even if he suffered a career ending injury he’d still make Cooperstown.

Hack Wilson and Sandy Koufax are precedents for players who made the Hall on the basis of being insanely dominant but just for a few years. Ohtani is already in their league.

Of course, he could also stay healthy for many years to come and put up some solid career numbers despite missing a few years while in NPB. Time will tell.

Knocks on wood

Incredible that Barry Bonds hit 540 more home runs than Ohtani.

Incredible that Barry Bonds hit 540 more home runs than Ohtani.

Sure - if you count someone juiced to the extreme. The guy resembled Schwarzenegger at his peak.

Nothing against the young man and I hope he has long and healthy career. He is good for the game. However, all of the "GOAT" talk is still a bit premature. Yes, there are outliers who had short, dominant careers - Sandy Koufax was mentioned earlier. But, there are others who have burned bright, but quickly. How about this guy:

2-time MVP, 5 Gold Gloves, 4-time Silver Slugger, 7-time All Star, 2-time home run and RBI leader, MLB Man of the Year (Clemente Award). No Hall of Fame. Who is it? Dale Murphy of my hometown Braves. Injuries and age caught up to him.

Mike Trout has won 3 MVPs, and even led the league in stolen bases one year, but has only played over 100 games once since his last MVP in 2019, Injuries and now, age. He was once considered the future GOAT, but not any more. And he plays center field. Hall of Fame? Yes. GOAT? No.

Ohtani is great, but he has alredy been shut down twice because of injury and he is not getting younger. I do hope he can stay healthy.

Also, keep in mind that he is a DH. He does not play the field. That is a very important part of the game. Even though he does pitch, there is a difference between pitching once every five - six games and taking the field every single game. No defense, no GOAT. Last year's NL MVP, Ronald Acuna Jr., batted .337, had 41 homeruns, 73 stolen bases and played 159 games in the outfiled. Personally, I find that more impressive than a 50 / 50 from a DH that has new rules to make steals easier (not to mention MLB did away with "indifference" and he is getting credit for steals that in the past would have been ruled indifference - look at his 51st steal - no play made by the catcher or SS, just let him walk in).

Also, keep in mind that he is a DH. He does not play the field. 

Let's not pretend this guy couldn't play all 9 positions and excell. He's hardly the Cecil Fielder of DHes...and yes, there are times a steal is uncontested...that's baseball

Nolan Ryan retired when he was 46. Ohtani could do the same.

Also, keep in mind that he is a DH. He does not play the field. That is a very important part of the game. Even though he does pitch, there is a difference between pitching once every five - six games and taking the field every single game. No defense, no GOAT. Last year's NL MVP, Ronald Acuna Jr., batted .337, had 41 homeruns, 73 stolen bases and played 159 games in the outfiled. Personally, I find that more impressive than a 50 / 50 from a DH that has new rules to make steals easier (not to mention MLB did away with "indifference" and he is getting credit for steals that in the past would have been ruled indifference - look at his 51st steal - no play made by the catcher or SS, just let him walk in).

why on earth would you bring this up when the rule to “make steals easier” happened before, which gave Acuna Jr the benefit to steal 73 bases easier than before. You’re trying to discredit his 50 steals basis because of the rule change by bringing up someone who benefited from the rule change which makes no sense whatsoever.

*2-time MVP, 5 Gold Gloves, 4-time Silver Slugger, 7-time All Star, 2-time home run and RBI leader, MLB Man of the Year (Clemente Award). No Hall of Fame. Who is it? Dale Murphy of my hometown Braves. Injuries and age caught up to him.*

I’ve always thought Murphy was one of those borderline candidates who should probably get in. In addition to injuries he was also a bit of a late bloomer, so he was really dominant for just a six or seven year period (Don Mattingly is similar in that regard) but he was one of the top players in the game during the 80s.

If Harold Baines is in though, there is no reason Dale Murphy shouldn’t be.

About Ohtani I agree, the GOAT talk is ridiculous at this point.

Yumster100 - why on earth would you bring this up when the rule to “make steals easier” happened before,

The larger bases, limited number of pick-off throws, and elimination of indifference all began this season, not last season. Acuna had 73 under the old rules. Ichiro had 500+ under the old rules.

I'm not blaming Ohtani. He did not change the rules, he just plays by them. I'm just trying to give some perspective.

And, rainyday, I agree with everything you said. The Braves also wasted a few of his years trying to make him a catcher. Murph for the HoF is a hill I will die on. He really should be in. When I was a kid, we used to argue in little league over who got to "be" Dale Murphy. I usually got stuck with Bob Horner...sigh.

Sure - if you count someone juiced to the extreme. The guy resembled Schwarzenegger at his peak.

What if we count the 311 other players with more home runs than Ohtani?

Or the 710 players with a higher lifetime batting average?

The larger bases, limited number of pick-off throws, and elimination of indifference all began this season, not last season. Acuna had 73 under the old rules. Ichiro had 500+ under the old rules.

I'm not blaming Ohtani. He did not change the rules, he just plays by them. I'm just trying to give some perspective.

Yeah, but also for perspective when Jose Canseco became the first 40-40 guy in 1988 his 42 steals weren’t enough to even crack the top 10. Back then guys like Henderson, Raines and Coleman were routinely topping 100.

This year Ohtani’s 51 are good enough for 2nd across MLB.

And, rainyday, I agree with everything you said. The Braves also wasted a few of his years trying to make him a catcher. Murph for the HoF is a hill I will die on. He really should be in. When I was a kid, we used to argue in little league over who got to "be" Dale Murphy. I usually got stuck with Bob Horner...sigh.

As a kid in the 80s I wasn’t a Braves fan, but still liked Murphy. In addition to being a top player he also seems like a genuinely nice man. Should be in the Hall for sure.

What if we count the 311 other players with more home runs than Ohtani?

Ohtani has 10 more years to go to accumulate those HRs.

Or the 710 players with a higher lifetime batting average?

How many of those guys were a dual-threat?

The larger bases, limited number of pick-off throws, and elimination of indifference all began this season, not last season. Acuna had 73 under the old rules. Ichiro had 500+ under the old rules.

wait, I thought Acuna did this under the new rules which is the reason I brought this up. It began in the 2023 season if I’m not mistaken

When will he start pitching again?

There were discussions about Shohei possibly pitching during the playoffs but I doubt it.

Most likely he'll pitch again next year. But I worry about that, two Tommy John surgeries already, yikes.

Or at least for another 10 years on daily repeats.

Even after 10 years he could still pinch hit, adding to his homerun and rbi totals.

Barry Bonds played 22, Shohei Ohtani 8. Bonds also beefed up on PEDs. So what is the big deal about Bonds having more home runs? That is a comment by someone who has little knowledge of the game. Perhaps it's a comment from some slightly bigoted commentor. I do and always will go straight to the box scores to see how he did. This year he is having a better season than Bonds ever had.

Bonds never generated this much excitement even when he hit his steroid 73 home runs.

I suggest that some people need to learn more about the game.

I love the predictions, though. People here may also enjoy another TWO years of predictions of another Tommy Lee surgery and Ohtani having to quit. The point is, we don't know. I sure do hope we have another ten years or him playing, but even in Japanese, there is an equivalent prover of counting chickens.

Barry Bonds played 22, Shohei Ohtani 8. Bonds also beefed up on PEDs. So what is the big deal about Bonds having more home runs? 

So you take home runs out of the picture? Then no big deal with Ohtani hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases in a season.

Bonds never generated this much excitement even when he hit his steroid 73 home runs.

Actually, he did.

And McGwire and Sosa generated even more excitement when they hit less than 73 hrs in a season.

This year he is having a better season than Bonds ever had.

By having a lower batting average, hitting fewer home runs, getting on base fewer times, having a lower slugging percentage, fewer total bases, fewer runs etc.?