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Posted
3 minutes ago, VirginiaLonghorn said:

Has “Mr October” responded to there being a new King of the Baseball Playoffs hill?

Reggie or Corey?

Posted
1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

The context of the rest of the post should make it easy to discern this. 

A gracious note .. recognizing one night’s performance .. while keeping a death grip on “Mr October”

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Posted
On 10/18/2025 at 4:42 AM, capnamerca said:

Point of order. There's been ONE guy like this guy, and that guy has historically been considered the best to ever play this game. 

That one guy, as great as he was, was not this guy. I thoroughly enjoy reading about Ruth and the stories. This is the guy that every single player will be measured against though once he is done playing. He is as complete a baseball player as has ever existed and we’re all lucky we get to watch his career play out on a real MLB team instead of Anaheim.

Posted
18 minutes ago, UpperWestside said:

That one guy, as great as he was, was not this guy.

This guy, as good as he is, hasn't ever hit more home runs in a season than every other TEAM in his league, like the other guy did in 1920. As Shoehei is to playing both ways, Ruth was to the homer. 

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Posted
59 minutes ago, capnamerca said:

This guy, as good as he is, hasn't ever hit more home runs in a season than every other TEAM in his league, like the other guy did in 1920. As Shoehei is to playing both ways, Ruth was to the homer. 

A 100 years ago. Ohtani has already passed him on the list of greatest players. Like it, don’t like it. Doesn’t matter. I’m not even a Dodgers fan. The guy is simply the best to ever play the game.

Posted
4 minutes ago, UpperWestside said:

A 100 years ago.

That's completely disingenuous debate :) ... you have to compare players to others of their era. It's also completely dismissive of the impact Ruth had on the game. The entire philosophy of the sport changed when he was done as a player. Ohtani is executing at a level never seen before, that is clearly true, but until we see a legion of guys suddenly playing both ways, his impact won't ever be as great as Babe Ruth.

(Shoehei is fantastic. What he's doing is CLEARLY the most out-of-this-world thing since Ruth ... I'm not ready to annoint him yet, but I'm also enjoying the debate.)

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Posted (edited)

It’s also not telling the entire story of Ruth’s accomplishments without saying they came in a segregated league that did not have all of the best players in the same league. MLB now has the best of the best from the many different parts of the world that play the sport. To me that is a far greater accomplishment. I still like Ruth, the accomplishments, the life outside of baseball and whatnot.
 

I think the only time MLB players saw a Japanese pitcher before Nomo (shouldn’t say only, but the first time of any significance) was in the 30’s in an all-star game in Japan where a 17 year old teenager went to town on a team of American barnstormers.

https://www.mlb.com/amp/cut4/the-day-a-japanese-high-schooler-struck-out-ruth-gehrig-and-foxx-in-succession-c.html

Edited by UpperWestside
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Posted
1 hour ago, capnamerca said:

This guy, as good as he is, hasn't ever hit more home runs in a season than every other TEAM in his league, like the other guy did in 1920. As Shoehei is to playing both ways, Ruth was to the homer. 

Ohtani would have popped 200 homers in that era, if he didn’t get killed first from getting drilled in the head…

Posted
On 10/21/2025 at 9:23 PM, Ignatius said:

Ohtani would have popped 200 homers in that era, if he didn’t get killed first from getting drilled in the head…

Plus,  gambling debts were settled in a different matter in those days.

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Posted

GOAT.

That term gets thrown around a lot now but he and MJ are the only ones worthy of that title. To argue otherwise is just to be a contrarian dipshit.

I cannot wait to see what he does tonight pitching and hitting. No way he approaches what he did in Game 4 vs the Brewers, right? Right?

Posted
4 hours ago, crash_davis said:

GOAT.

That term gets thrown around a lot now but he and MJ are the only ones worthy of that title. To argue otherwise is just to be a contrarian dipshit.

I cannot wait to see what he does tonight pitching and hitting. No way he approaches what he did in Game 4 vs the Brewers, right? Right?

I sitll can't call him GOAT but he's pretty freaking close.   My issue is still longevitity and if he's still producing in 5 years, sure.   And I don't mean producing like this.   Just good solid numbers.   

Last night was something though. 

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Posted
9 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

I sitll can't call him GOAT but he's pretty freaking close.   My issue is still longevitity and if he's still producing in 5 years, sure.   And I don't mean producing like this.   Just good solid numbers.   

Last night was something though. 

Agreed but there hasn't been anything like him in 100 years. To see what he did in Brewers game 4, 10Ks, 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 for 3 with 3 HRs. I mean come on. When is the next time if EVER anyone is going to do that in a game much less a post season game? He's the ONLY one who can.

Posted
Just now, crash_davis said:

Agreed but there hasn't been anything like him in 100 years. To see what he did in Brewers game 4, 10Ks, 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 for 3 with 3 HRs. I mean come on. When is the next time if EVER anyone is going to do that in a game much less a post season game? He's the ONLY one who can.

He is the best player in baseball today.  That is not in doubt.

Posted

I’ve been trying to see the home run that won the game last night, but all espn keeps showing is his 7th inning homer.  
 

He could very well be one of the best players ever, but I would posit that a large part of that is the pitching and hitting aspect that is so rare these days. If he were an outfielder that crushed it, I don’t think we would see this amount of fanboi glee. 
 

I’ve never understood why pitchers can’t also be good hitters, so to me, he’s just proving my point. Commence reply beating. 

Posted (edited)
7 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

I’ve been trying to see the home run that won the game last night, but all espn keeps showing is his 7th inning homer.  

You are searching for Freddie freeman hr, right?

I think that 7th inning hr was the last pitch he saw for the game. 

Edited by Pato del Muerto
Posted
2 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

You are searching for Freddie freeman hr, right?

I think that 7th inning hr was the last pitch he saw for the game. 

Right. So why do they not show the game winner in the highlights?

Posted
2 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

Glad I got to see this guy in person with about 2,500 other people in Oakland a few years ago. 

had to check if I had a pic. My one time was with Verlander in the mound. Of course it was Jon Singleton who hit 2 HRs for the Astros 

IMG_2524.thumb.jpeg.4bd9aa5e1a4be5407d6c1786d9455cea.jpeg

Posted
1 hour ago, Im_smarter_then_you said:

And orentals weren’t allowed back then.   At least not in Texas.  Well I guess still not allowed in ft worth

Not the preferred nomenclature, dude.

Posted

I’m having trouble with ohtani. Yes, it’s cool he is a good hitter and pitcher. Why is that so amazing?  I would posit that there have been plenty of people who could have been good at both, but because of the way baseball has always  been, pitchers were coached to not worry about hitting and just focus on pitching. Is ohtani an alien?  Why has no one else been able to break through with this?

Posted
I’m having trouble with ohtani. Yes, it’s cool he is a good hitter and pitcher. Why is that so amazing?  I would posit that there have been plenty of people who could have been good at both, but because of the way baseball has always  been, pitchers were coached to not worry about hitting and just focus on pitching. Is ohtani an alien?  Why has no one else been able to break through with this?

This is a terrible take. He is an ELITE pitcher and maybe the best hitter in history
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Posted (edited)
4 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:


This is a terrible take. He is an ELITE pitcher and maybe the best hitter in history

Cool. Explain. I’m not arguing he’s not great. I’m arguing there were plenty of pitchers or hitters that could have done both.  The conventional wisdom of baseball since the 1930s or so has been to keep them separate. Do you disagree?  

Edited by Biff Tannen
And you’re a dodgers fan right?
Posted (edited)
3 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Cool. Explain. I’m not arguing he’s not great. I’m arguing there were plenty of pitchers or hitters that could have done both.  The conventional wisdom of baseball since the 1930s or so has been to keep them separate. Do you disagree?  

Pretty simple. Guys can do both. Hell most baseball players have done both in their life. To be GREAT at both at the MLB level though?  
 

Usually a guy is great at one and kind of good at the other. It’s not worth risking the great for the good (injury, exhaustion, mental fatigue, etc)

Edited by Surly Bevo
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Posted
Just now, Surly Bevo said:

Pretty simple. Guys can do both. Hell most baseball players have done both in their life. To be GREAT at both at the MLB level though?  

Neat. I’m glad he is good at both. Is the argument that no one in 150 years has been this good?  Why is everyone so fast to latch on and act like we are in the presence of some baseball God?  

Posted
12 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

I’m having trouble with ohtani. Yes, it’s cool he is a good hitter and pitcher. Why is that so amazing?  I would posit that there have been plenty of people who could have been good at both, but because of the way baseball has always  been, pitchers were coached to not worry about hitting and just focus on pitching. Is ohtani an alien?  Why has no one else been able to break through with this?

Bruhh GIF by reactionseditor

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Posted
Just now, Biff Tannen said:

Neat. I’m glad he is good at both. Is the argument that no one in 150 years has been this good?  Why is everyone so fast to latch on and act like we are in the presence of some baseball God?  

He isn't good at both, he is elite at both. 

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Posted
Just now, F250 said:

He isn't good at both, he is elite at both. 

Ok. I guess I just don’t get it. I’ve seen elite pitchers and hitters. They all seem better to me than him.  Yall have fun. 

Posted
Just now, Biff Tannen said:

Neat. I’m glad he is good at both. Is the argument that no one in 150 years has been this good?  Why is everyone so fast to latch on and act like we are in the presence of some baseball God?  

I mean if guys could do it like this “baseball” would have had them do it. 

Posted
Just now, Biff Tannen said:

Ok. I guess I just don’t get it. I’ve seen elite pitchers and hitters. They all seem better to me than him.  Yall have fun. 

Do you watch baseball? He is up literally up there with the elite on both hitting, base running and pitching. Nobody fucking does that. He was an elite prospect at hitting and pitching coming out of high school and nobody does that either, even when it is common for high school players to play both hit and pitch. 

You are just pleading to ignorance, you don't know or understand, so this isn't impressive. 

Posted
14 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:


This is a terrible take. He is an ELITE pitcher and maybe the best hitter in history

C'mon now. He's amazing, pretty much the only guy I'll tune in to watch just for him, and likely the best baseball player we've ever seen. But there's a hitter right now today that's better in every objective measure you can think of.

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Posted
9 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Neat. I’m glad he is good at both. Is the argument that no one in 150 years has been this good?  Why is everyone so fast to latch on and act like we are in the presence of some baseball God?  

You’d think an athlete like Patrick Mahomes would be an elite defensive end too.  

Posted (edited)

I like to bring up John olerud’s college numbers at wazzoo for these types of arguments. In 1988 he hit .465 with 25 hr and was also 15-0 with a 2.49 era as a sp in the pac10 with those bats. Could he have made the leap at both, even at a replacement player level?  Was he told to choose one or the othe?  Was position player chosen for him?  I’m sure there are others. Keishnick chose position player and basically failed that and then transitioned to pitcher. Ankiel went the other way after his pitching yips. 
 

but has anyone been an all star level at one and had a chance at the other?  Seems pretty clear that ohtani is a unicorn. 

Edited by Pato del Muerto
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Posted
12 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Neat. I’m glad he is good at both. Is the argument that no one in 150 years has been this good?  Why is everyone so fast to latch on and act like we are in the presence of some baseball God?  

He isn't good at both. He is at the top of the pecking order for both in a league comprised of the best baseball players in the world. The dude is the cream of the crop at both while playing at the highest level of baseball.

150 years? WTF? Nobody takes the Dead-ball era into account.

When was the last time a high school player was considered an MLB draft pick for both pitching or hitting? That shit doesn't happen, and many draft prospects and high D1 prospects don't go the PO route while still in high school, it's pretty common for them to bat and pitch. Not only was Ohtani a prospect at both for the MLB draft, he fucking thrived in the MLB at both. A shit ton of players get drafted high in the MLB and fizzle out. This dude, was not only a prospect like no other, he thrived in the MLB and does what most others cannot do when specializing in only one thing. 

 

Posted
1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

I’m having trouble with ohtani. Yes, it’s cool he is a good hitter and pitcher. Why is that so amazing?  I would posit that there have been plenty of people who could have been good at both, but because of the way baseball has always  been, pitchers were coached to not worry about hitting and just focus on pitching. Is ohtani an alien?  Why has no one else been able to break through with this?

The last guy I saw who was the best at both pitching and hitting at his level was:

KDsO2lVq_400x400.jpg

And then he went to the majors and sucked at both.  MLB is unimaginably fucking difficult.

Posted
32 minutes ago, F250 said:

hen was the last time a high school player was considered an MLB draft pick for both pitching or hitting? That shit doesn't happen

Boom. That’s my point. Players are groomed to NOT be that way. 

Posted
7 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Boom. That’s my point. Players are groomed to NOT be that way. 

LOL this is dumb, and you are doubling down on dumb. The entire post was about players that were trained to play both ways but didn't have the talent to be prospects at both. 

Go back to arguing about HOA rules or whatever the fuck you do. 

 

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