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John Smoltz already considers Shohei Ohtani to be one of the best pitchers ever
John Smoltz already considers Shohei Ohtani to be one of the best pitchers ever
Roughly 20 months after undergoing his second career elbow surgery, Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is working his way back to the mound.
Ohtani hasn’t thrown a pitch in game since Aug. 23, 2023. At the time, he was in the midst of a 20-plus inning scoreless streak before exiting a start after 1.1 innings with an elbow injury. Now, he’s working his way back to the bump, completing his second simulated start Friday ahead of the Dodgers’ three-game series against the New York Yankees, a rematch of last year’s World Series.
We know how special Ohtani is at the plate, but when he’s been healthy enough to pitch, he’s one of the most dominant starters in the sport. There’s not much he can’t do. Though Hall of Famer John Smoltz took it to another level, calling the 30-year-old mega star one of the best pitchers ever, according to MLB Network.
Ohtani only has 86 career appearances under his belt, sporting a 3.01 ERA (142 ERA+) with a 3.31 FIP and 608 strikeouts (to just 173 walks) in 481.2 frames. In 2023 before his injury, he owned a 3.14 ERA with a 4.00 FIP in 132 innings with 167 strikeouts.
Even though we’re hearing this from a first-ballot Hall of Famer doesn’t make it true.
Is Ohtani a generational talent? Absolutely! But he’s not one of the best ever. How can that be possible when you haven’t won a CY Young?! He’s only three seasons with 23 starts or more and, in that span, he’s posted the second-highest strikeout rate, third-best ERA, eighth-best FIP and 10th-highest fWAR. You could absolutely argue that he’s a top-5 starter over that span, but not one of the best pitchers ever.
There’s nobody in MLB who can do what he does on a night-to-night basis when he’s tasked with both hitting and pitching. The fact that he led MLB in OPS and the AL in home runs in 2023 (the last time he had full-time hitting/pitching responsibilities) with ace-level numbers is absurd, but let’s not jump to him being an all-time great pitcher.
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