Better than Babe?: Shohei Ohtani settles the baseball GOAT debate

If there was ever any question of Shohei Ohtani’s greatness, Game 4 of the National League Championship Series answered it beyond a doubt. During Friday night’s performance, the Japanese two-way superstar hit three home runs and struck out 10 Milwaukee Brewers over more than six scoreless innings to secure the series-clinching win and the NLCS Most Valuable Player award. His 10 strikeouts came on 97 pitches, including 18 swinging strikes, while his three home runs traveled a combined 1,342 feet, according to Statcast.

Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball history to record three home runs and at least 10 strikeouts in the same game, postseason or regular season. He homered in the first, fourth and seventh innings, each against a different pitcher and allowed only two hits with no walks. His fastball averaged 98 mph and he retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced before leaving to a standing ovation from more than 52,000 fans at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers’ 5-1 win secured a sweep of the Brewers and sent Los Angeles to a second straight World Series appearance. The performance dropped Ohtani’s postseason earned-run average to 1.32 and added to his total of four home runs in the NLCS. The Dodgers will face the American League champion in the upcoming World Series, where Ohtani is expected to start Game 1 as both pitcher and designated hitter.

Ohtani’s two-way dominance on one of baseball’s biggest stages solidified his standing as one of the sport’s defining figures of the modern era. ESPN analyst Buster Olney said, “Look, when we first heard about Shohei Ohtani, what was said over and over and over again was that he was the Babe Ruth of Japan. Well, Babe Ruth never did what Shohei Ohtani did last night … I mean, we need to remind ourselves every single day that what we’re seeing from Shohei Ohtani has never been done before.” ESPN insider Jeff Passan echoed the sentiment in a postgame comment, writing, “The best. Period.”

Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts compared Ohtani’s leadership and influence to that of basketball legend Michael Jordan. “I’ve said it multiple times, we’re like the Bulls, and he’s Michael Jordan,” Betts said. “Whenever he goes, we’re all going to go. You see it today, and I’m just happy he’s on our team.” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts echoed that perspective from a performance standpoint. “That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time,” Roberts said. “There’s been a lot of postseason games. And there’s a reason why he’s the greatest player on the planet.”

Ohtani, however, avoided discussion of personal accolades and credited his teammates and fans for the victory. “We won it as a team, and this was really a team effort,” he said, speaking through his interpreter. “So I hope everybody in L.A. and Japan and all over the world could enjoy a really good sake.”