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Does Pitching ability over inflate Ohtani’s legacy?
Posted on 1/28/26 at 12:35 pm
Posted on 1/28/26 at 12:35 pm
It’s an interesting argument because:
a few things are true.
1. as a hitter only, he is clearly elite and one of the best in baseball (1st or 2nd best in most given years)
2. When he pitches he is an elite pitcher. not 1-2 but really high up there. 3.00 career ERA good SO numbers. Elite stuff.
3. It is amazing that he can do both. absolutely incredible.
4. He doesn’t pitch a lot. He has never pitched 30 games in a season. He’s averaging about 12.5 starts a season and like 66 IP per season.
Is his current reputation overinflated because sometimes he’s a really good pitcher? It’s cool he can do it but he barely ever does it.
Why does this matter?
He is playing at the same time as Aaron Judge and toward the tail end of Mike Trout’s career.
2 guys who are insane players and have their own GOAT potential.
Judge and Trout have lead MLB in WAR 3x and Ohtani has only lead MLB 2x both during seasons where he actually pitched a relatively complete workload.
Is it so cool that he CAN do both so well we will overlook that he doesn’t do them both all that often?
a few things are true.
1. as a hitter only, he is clearly elite and one of the best in baseball (1st or 2nd best in most given years)
2. When he pitches he is an elite pitcher. not 1-2 but really high up there. 3.00 career ERA good SO numbers. Elite stuff.
3. It is amazing that he can do both. absolutely incredible.
4. He doesn’t pitch a lot. He has never pitched 30 games in a season. He’s averaging about 12.5 starts a season and like 66 IP per season.
Is his current reputation overinflated because sometimes he’s a really good pitcher? It’s cool he can do it but he barely ever does it.
Why does this matter?
He is playing at the same time as Aaron Judge and toward the tail end of Mike Trout’s career.
2 guys who are insane players and have their own GOAT potential.
Judge and Trout have lead MLB in WAR 3x and Ohtani has only lead MLB 2x both during seasons where he actually pitched a relatively complete workload.
Is it so cool that he CAN do both so well we will overlook that he doesn’t do them both all that often?
Posted on 1/28/26 at 12:37 pm to SammyTiger
quote:
Is it so cool that he CAN do both so well we will overlook that he doesn’t do them both all that often?
No. Next question
Posted on 1/28/26 at 12:39 pm to Porter Osborne Jr
the wear and tear of doing both is gonna shorten his career
plus he has already had two major pitching injuries
plus he has already had two major pitching injuries
Posted on 1/28/26 at 12:43 pm to SammyTiger
I hate the dodgers but I’ll give fairness to Ohtani. We haven’t seen a player be able to Hit, Steal bases, nor be able to pitch at this level all in one player.
Hell the year he didn’t pitch, I think he had 50/50 that year?
Hell the year he didn’t pitch, I think he had 50/50 that year?
This post was edited on 1/28/26 at 12:45 pm
Posted on 1/28/26 at 12:43 pm to SammyTiger
I feel like you answered your own question with points 1-3. Also, it's rare that we see players both pitch and hit in today's game and especially in the MLB at a competent level, much less elite like he can. It's such a rarity that I think his legacy isn't over inflated, at least not at this point in time.
Posted on 1/28/26 at 12:43 pm to SammyTiger
He’s like a create a player on MLB the show
Throws it 100 and hits 450 feet home runs
Edit: my bad
It’s wild to see in real life
Throws it 100 and hits 450 feet home runs
Edit: my bad
It’s wild to see in real life
This post was edited on 1/28/26 at 1:10 pm
Posted on 1/28/26 at 12:43 pm to SammyTiger
quote:
Does Pitching ability over inflate Ohtani’s legacy?
No.
He's doing stuff that hasn't been done since Babe Ruth, against a bunch of guys closer in talent to him than what Babe Ruth competed against.
Nothing is over inflated. The hype is justified.
Posted on 1/28/26 at 1:03 pm to Lawyered
quote:
hits 450mph home runs
he is going to kill a fan
Posted on 1/28/26 at 1:19 pm to SammyTiger
It annoys me when they call him a "two way player".
Almost all players are two way players. Granted a starting pitcher has the most influence by far on the defensive side of the ball but it's not like guys like Willie Mays are sitting in the dugout picking their arse. Pitching is hard but so are the other eight positions.
We just saw a guy rake 60 HRs and carry an entire offense on his back while simultaneously crouching and throwing from the catchers box for 1000 innings. That ain't chopped liver either.
Posted on 1/28/26 at 1:20 pm to ProjectP2294
quote:
He's doing stuff that hasn't been done since Babe Ruth, against a bunch of guys closer in talent to him than what Babe Ruth competed against.
This isn’t a wrong argument, but 60% of the time he’s not doing that.
Someone said he is already the goat, and I said Baseball GOAT status usually requires some longevity. You need to do it for a long time and he’s 8 years in and really only 5 year in a his prime.
Is that overhyped? I think so.
Posted on 1/28/26 at 1:26 pm to SammyTiger
quote:
This isn’t a wrong argument, but 60% of the time he’s not doing that.
This is really dumb. The 40% of the time (your number) that he's doing it is 100% more than anyone else is.
quote:
You need to do it for a long time and he’s 8 years in and really only 5 year in a his prime.
Time works in a linear fashion.
quote:
Is that overhyped? I think so.
Why don't you tell us what the appropriate level of hype is?
Posted on 1/28/26 at 1:34 pm to SammyTiger
I wish they would make him a closer. With the new rule it makes no sense to have him starting IMO. If he were to come into a tied game or blow a save he
Could still DH after getting pulled from pitching.
Could still DH after getting pulled from pitching.
Posted on 1/28/26 at 2:29 pm to ProjectP2294
i don’t think he’s already the goat because for 3 seasons he was this amazing 2 way player.
In the past 5 years he’s led the MLB in WAR 2x and Judge has lead it 3 times.
And 1 of those years was by far Ohtani’s best year pitching.
In the past 5 years he’s led the MLB in WAR 2x and Judge has lead it 3 times.
And 1 of those years was by far Ohtani’s best year pitching.
Posted on 1/28/26 at 2:39 pm to nicholastiger
quote:
the wear and tear of doing both is gonna shorten his career plus he has already had two major pitching injuries
You couldn’t be more wrong. He’s in his 30s and still getting better.
Posted on 1/28/26 at 2:51 pm to SammyTiger
You are the only one who keeps using the term GOAT or saying people call him that. How you choose to define that First Take level term is completely subjective and up to you
He is the most unique baseball player of our time, and in my opinion the most all around talented baseball player of our time. Will that ultimately show in his statistics at the end of his career? Very possibly not, but it still shouldn’t dampen the hype around his incredible ability in my opinion
He is the most unique baseball player of our time, and in my opinion the most all around talented baseball player of our time. Will that ultimately show in his statistics at the end of his career? Very possibly not, but it still shouldn’t dampen the hype around his incredible ability in my opinion
Posted on 1/28/26 at 2:58 pm to SammyTiger
quote:
Is his current reputation overinflated because sometimes he’s a really good pitcher? It’s cool he can do it but he barely ever does it. Why does this matter? He is playing at the same time as Aaron Judge and toward the tail end of Mike Trout’s career.
Here’s an assignment.
See how many plays judge is involved in on a weekly basis and compare that to how many pitches that ohtani throws in a game per weeks.
Then we will have an idea whether it’s “overrated” or not.
He impacts his team far more than judge.
This post was edited on 1/28/26 at 3:01 pm
Posted on 1/28/26 at 3:25 pm to Adam Banks
quote:
See how many plays judge is involved in on a weekly basis and compare that to how many pitches that ohtani throws in a game per weeks. Then we will have an idea whether it’s “overrated” or not. He impacts his team far more than judge.
in 2024 he threw 0 pitches
in 2019 he threw 0 pitches
In 5 out of 8 seasons he faced less batters than Judge had POs.
This post was edited on 1/28/26 at 3:30 pm
Posted on 1/28/26 at 3:35 pm to ShaneTheLegLechler
quote:
You are the only one who keeps using the term GOAT or saying people call him that. How you choose to define that First Take level term is completely subjective and up to you
In this thread maybe, but not on earth.
Posted on 1/29/26 at 6:13 am to SammyTiger
Yes. He’s being touted as the potential GOAT but he’s not the GOAT at either pitching or hitting.
Like you said, it’s incredible that he’s so good at both because of how incredibly rare that is, but if he was only known as a pitcher or only known as a hitter, he wouldn’t be talked about at quite the level he is now.
Like you said, it’s incredible that he’s so good at both because of how incredibly rare that is, but if he was only known as a pitcher or only known as a hitter, he wouldn’t be talked about at quite the level he is now.
Posted on 1/29/26 at 6:21 am to SammyTiger
quote:
Does Pitching ability over inflate Ohtani’s legacy?
Does having huge boobs overinflate a woman’s hotness?
No it does not.
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