Shohei Ohtani’s talent has always been evident. The question was whether he would ever graduate from the ranks of intriguing novelty to a legitimate MLB superstar.
Though spectacular in spurts, Ohtani’s first few seasons in MLB were a mixed bag. Undone by injuries and a failed 2020 campaign that never quite got off the ground, Ohtani’s inconsistent play early in his big-league tenure invited skepticism with many wondering if the Angels phenom would ever put it all together. Perhaps his most vocal critic was ESPN alum Keith Olbermann, who openly mocked the 26-year-old on Twitter last month after his breakthrough performance against the White Sox on Sunday Night Baseball.
It’s easy to see why Olbermann would have his doubts about the Japanese DH/pitcher hybrid. It seemed the general public wanted so badly for Ohtani to succeed that we were willing to overlook his—at the time—relatively uneven track record, anointing him as the next Babe Ruth before he had actually done anything. Fast forward to Monday night against Cleveland, with Ohtani slugging his third round-tripper in four games.
Ohtani’s May power surge has vaulted him to the top of the league leaderboards, pacing all of MLB with 13 home runs while also submitting a tidy .612 slugging percentage with 10 doubles, 30 runs scored, 32 RBI and a team-high six steals. The right-hander has been similarly stupendous on the mound, striking out batters at a rate of 14.03 Ks per nine innings while limiting opponents to a miserable .126 average in 110 plate appearances.
If you want to nitpick, Ohtani is only hitting .263 (which isn’t all that bad when you consider the league average is .236) and has yielded nearly a walk per inning this year (20 free passes in 25 2/3 innings). But no matter how much weight you assign to those particular shortcomings, there’s no denying Ohtani is playing at an All-Star—if not MVP—level right now.
Even with trolls dunking on him in the comments section, Olbermann isn’t ready to admit defeat, insisting we need more time to evaluate Ohtani before invoking the Great Bambino.
Really, Keith? This is the hill you want to die on?
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